M77 (Cetus A)

M77 (Cetus A) — galaxy, shown live in Cosmoscope, a real-time 3D map of the universe.

The brightest and closest of the Seyfert galaxies — a barred spiral whose blindingly bright core, lit by gas spiralling into its black hole, outshines the rest of the galaxy.

Type
Barred spiral / Seyfert (SA(rs)b)
Distance
47 million light-years
Core
The prototype Seyfert active nucleus

Seeing M77 (Cetus A) in real time

M77 (Cetus A) is placed at its true position on the sky and at its real measured distance, not as a flat backdrop. Fly out from the Sun in the live 3D view and watch it change from a point of light into structure as you approach, with the scale bar showing just how far out you have travelled.

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