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Astronomy

Dust-filled doughnuts in space

Nature volume 429, pages 29–30 (2004)Cite this article

A Correction to this article was published on 03 June 2004

A Corrigendum to this article was published on 11 March 2004

The first images of an extragalactic object to have been captured using infrared interferometry reveal the doughnut-shaped cloud of dust that obscures the heart of a nearby active galaxy.

Active galactic nuclei are among the most exotic objects in the Universe. They radiate as much light as an entire galaxy from a region the size of the Solar System and, unlike stars, spread that light over the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to γ-rays. Thanks to observational advances in the past decade, we now have good evidence that the ‘engine’ powering each of these objects is a black hole, weighing anywhere from millions to billions of times as much as the Sun. Fortunately for the galaxies that house them (but unfortunately for distant observers like us), active galactic nuclei are often shrouded in opaque gas and dust that block a view of them from most directions. The light from them, intercepted by these dust clouds, is degraded to infrared light that tells us little about the fascinating activity deep inside.

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Figure 1: The active galaxy NGC 1068.

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  1. Johns Hopkins University, is currently at the Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA, UK

    Julian Krolik

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  1. Julian Krolik
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Krolik, J. Dust-filled doughnuts in space. Nature 429, 29–30 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/429029a

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