Centaurus A, also known as NGC 5128 is a galaxy in the constellation Centaurus. It is relatively close to us although there is some dispute about its actual distance. Estimates range from 10 - 16 million light years.

It was discovered by James Dunlop from his observatory in Parramatta, Sydney in 1826. It is the 5th brightest galaxy in the sky so its an ideal target for astrophotography from the southern hemisphere.

It has a few interesting features. The prominent dust lane, coffee coloured in my image, indicates that we are viewing the galaxy edge-on.

This is a starburst galaxy, likely caused by an interaction with a galactic neighbour. The red/purple areas are regions of active star formation. There are many young, hot stars here that live by the maxim "Live fast, die young". The region is ripe for supernovae.

There is also a supermassive black hole lurking at the centre of this galaxy. It weighs in at around 55 million times the mass of our Sun. Matter is collected around the black hole in an accretion disk which emits brightly at all wavelengths. At the poles of this monster, matter is ejected at near light speeds. These relativistic jets are bright at both UV and radio wavelengths. Using a radio telescope, it is hard not to detect these jets.

Taken with an SBIG STX16803 on a Planewave CDK12.5. All subs were 5 minutes for a total of 5 hours Luminence and 3 hours of each of R, G and B. RGB subs were binned x2 while L was unbinned.