Planetary Camera Imaging of the Nucleus of M51

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Scientific paper

We present high-resolution, broad- and narrow-band images of the central region of M51 taken with the Planetary Camera of the Hubble Space Telescope. The V-band images show radial dust lanes, roughly aligned with the major axis of the bar, presumably transporting gas to the AGN in the nucleus. The dust lane obscuring the nucleus of the galaxy is more complex than has been previouly reported, being both off-center and having curved appendages extending in different directions. Hα /[NII] images show several discrete blobs of ionized gas strung along arcs extending both northwards and southwards from the nucleus, describing a leading ``S''-configuration. The forbidden-line images of the extra-nuclear cloud are consistent with a picture in which a very narrow nuclear jet strikes and splatters off of the boundary of a relatively dense cloud of gas in the disk of the galaxy. We briefly discuss the degree to which the jet appears to influence the structure of the interstellar medium surrounding the nucleus.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Planetary Camera Imaging of the Nucleus of M51 does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Planetary Camera Imaging of the Nucleus of M51, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Planetary Camera Imaging of the Nucleus of M51 will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-881695

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.