Quote:
Originally Posted by kosborn
That's a great image and a really good contribution to the science behind what we do. As an ignorant amateur, how can you be sure that the hydrogen is associated with Centaurus A and not foreground hydrogen in our galaxy?
Kevin
|
Thanks Kevin! Great question, without further data I can’t be sure as to the origin of the Ha. It is quite likely that some or all of the Ha in my image is associated with the Milky Way but would be amazing if some of it is part of Centaurus A. There aren’t any known Milky Way high velocity clouds in this part of the sky afaik, so that’s a plus to them being part of Centaurus A. Also the shape of the upper convex cloud is in about the same location as the large radio-lobe from the galaxy so maybe that suggests it could be associated to the outflow from the AGN. Ultimately, spectroscopy would definitely help determine the origin but I suspect would need a very very very large scope 😂