What is the Centaurus A?

The galaxy’s name, Centaurus A, dates back to the 1940s and 1950s when radio astronomy was a relatively new field of study and radio sources in the sky were named by letters, with A designating the strongest radio source found within a given constellation. This galaxy has long been considered an example of an elliptical galaxy disrupted by a recent collision with a smaller-companion spiral galaxy. The black hole in the active nucleus is so dense it contains the mass of about 55 million suns, compacted into a small region of space not much larger than our solar system. It is the fifth brightest galaxy in the night sky, the nearest giant galaxy to the Milky Way, and one of the nearest radio galaxies to Earth. Its exact type is uncertain, but it is usually classified either as a giant elliptical or lenticular galaxy. The galaxy’s exact distance from Earth is also uncertain, but estimates generally range from 10 to 16 million light years.

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