Centaurus A is one of the most interesting and peculiar galaxies in the sky, and is a strong source of radio radiation.
It is of intermediate type between elliptical and spiral galaxies with the main body being identical to a large elliptical, but a pronounced dust belt is visible stretching over the center and forming a disk plane around the galaxy. The origin of this dust belt is unknown. It may be the remains of a merger between Centaurus A and a dust-rich spiral some time in the past, or perhaps this is one of the rare links between normal ellipticals and normal spiral galaxies. Another such possible link is NGC3115.

OPTICS 10" Newtonian f/5.2
MOUNT Losmandy G11 equatorial
CAMERA Philips ToUCam Pro SC1 webcam
FILTERS None
EXPOSURE 52 x 41s
DATE/TIME 06/06/2005 12:01 UTC
LOCATION My backyard observatory in west Auckland, New Zealand