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NGC 5128 described - "in a nutshell"
Here is a short, but very good, summary of the nature and properties of NGC 5128.
This is a quotation taken from the reference: E.W. Peng et al., 2002, AJ, 124, 3144
NGC 5128 is the nearest easily observable giant elliptical galaxy and is the prototype for a post-merger elliptical galaxy. The prominent central rotating disk of gas and dust, optical shells, and HI shells, all point to a merger event within the last gigayear. It is also a prototype Fanaroff-Riley Class I radio galaxy, with a radio jet driven by an active galactic nucleus (AGN) believed to be inducing star formation in the northeast halo region. While NGC 5128 appears to be a uniquely complex system, it is only because of its proximity that we are able to discern and study features that are likely to be common in more distant galaxies.
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