Cosmic Dust Clouds Supermassive Black Hole Centered in Messier 77

Summary: Cosmic dust clouds a Messier 77-centered supermassive black hole, according to the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer.

central region around NGC 1068, also known as Messier 77, as viewed from edge of disk surrounding the core's black hole, with formation of red- and blue-shifted radiation from interaction between disk and bowshock at end of jets above and below the disk; blue-shifted light moves toward us while red-shifted light recedes; rendition by Jon Lomberg, based upon model by Dr. Gerald Cecil, University of North Carolina, in April 1, 2002, issue of The Astrophysical Journal; image ID gemini0204a; release date March 21, 2002, 8 p.m.: credit Gemini Observatory/NSF/AURA/J. Lomberg: CC BY 4.0 DEED Attribution 4.0 International, via NOIRLab (National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory)

A cosmic dust cloud obscures an active galactic nucleus (AGN)-empowering supermassive black hole centered in Messier 77, as discovered via the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (ESO’s VLTI), as reported by Leiden University Observatory's Mexican postdoctoral astrophysicist Violeta Gámez Rosas and 51 co-authors in "Thermal imaging of dust hiding the black hole in the Active Galaxy NGC 1068," published in the Feb. 17, 2022, issue of Nature. Messier 77 (M77) is also known as NGC 1068, as listed in The New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, abbreviated as NGC. Danish-Irish astronomer John Louis Emil Dreyer (Feb. 13, 1852-Sept. 14, 1926) published his astronomical catalogue of deep-sky objects in 1888 as a compilation of discoveries and observations by father-and-son astronomers Sir Frederick William Herschel (Nov. 15, 1738-Aug. 25, 1822) and Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet KH FRS (March 7, 1792-May 11, 1871); Sir William’s sister Caroline (March 16, 1750-Jan. 9, 1848); and other observational astronomers. Dreyer's catalogue expanded Sir William's Catalogue of One Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (CN) and Sir John's General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (GC), published respectively in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London in 1786 and 1864. Dreyer's Summary Description noted NGC 1068 as "vB, pL, iR, sbMrrN," that is, "very Bright; pretty Large; irregular round; suddenly brighter in the middle, partially resolved some stars seen Nucleus." French astronomer Pierre François André Méchain (Aug. 16, 1744-Sep. 20, 1804) discovered Messier 77 on Oct. 29, 1780. Also named the Squid Galaxy, Messier 77 classifies as a barred spiral galaxy located in Cetus the Sea Monster constellation. Spiral arms wind from a bar-shaped structure that extends across the galaxy's central bulge. 286 words Image credits: central region around NGC 1068, also known as Messier 77, as viewed from edge of disk surrounding the core's black hole, with formation of red- and blue-shifted radiation from interaction between disk and bowshock at end of jets above and below the disk; blue-shifted light moves toward us while red-shifted light recedes; rendition by Jon Lomberg, based upon model by Dr. Gerald Cecil, University of North Carolina, in April 1, 2002, issue of The Astrophysical Journal; image ID gemini0204a; release date March 21, 2002, 8 p.m.: credit Gemini Observatory/NSF/AURA/J. Lomberg: CC BY 4.0 DEED Attribution 4.0 International, via NOIRLab (National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory) @ https://noirlab.edu/public/images/gemini0204a/; via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gemini_Observatory_Captures_Multi-Dimensional_Movie_of_Active_Galaxy's_Core_(gemini0204a).tiff For further information: astronomyphysicsleiden. "An international team led by Leiden astronomer and PhD student Violeta Gámez Rosas has recently observed a supermassive black hole hidden in a ring of dust. This discovery fits the idea that the so-called active centers of galaxies are much more similar than observations show, because the viewing angle from Earth causes distortions. The research was done with the MATISSE instrument, co-developed in the Netherlands, which combines infrared light from four European Very Large Telescopes (VLT) in Chile. MATISSE was created specifically for infrared light with wavelengths between 3 micrometers and 13 micrometers. Infrared light is also created when something gives off heat. The heart of MATISSE where the beams of the four VLT telescopes come together, consists of two aluminum boxes that are almost a meter in size. These boxes are filled to the brim with hundreds of optical components, dozens of sensors and dozens of tiny motors. Most of the components work with nanometer precision or even higher." Instagram. Feb. 20, 2022.
Available via Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/p/CaMT_B-sb54/

Dreyer, J.L.E. (John Louis Emil). “A New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, Being the Catalogue of the Late Sir John F.W. Herschel, Bart., Revised, Corrected, and Enlarged.” Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. XLIX, part I. London, England: Royal Astronomical Society, 1888.
Available @ https://ia800501.us.archive.org/14/items/newgeneralcatalo00dreyrich/newgeneralcatalo00dreyrich.pdf
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435078053089

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Available @ https://ia800501.us.archive.org/14/items/newgeneralcatalo00dreyrich/newgeneralcatalo00dreyrich.pdf
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435078053089?urlappend=%3Bseq=47%3Bownerid=13510798903399317-51
Available via HathiTrust @ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435078053089&seq=47

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Available via ESO @ https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2203/

ESO (European Southern Observatory; and Ferreira, Barbara. "Supermassive black hole caught hiding in a ring of cosmic dust." EurekAlert! > News Release. Feb. 16, 2022.
Available via EurekAlert! $ https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/943382

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Gámez Rosas, Violeta; Jacob W. Isbell; Walter Jaffe; Romain G. Petrov; James H. Leftley; Karl-Heinz Hofmann; Florentin Millour; Leonard Burtscher; Klaus Meisenheimer; Anthony Meilland; Laurens B.F.M. Waters; Bruno Lopez; Stéphane Lagarde; Gerd Weigelt; Philippe Berio; Fatme Allouche; Sylvie Robbe-Dubois; Pierre Cruzalèbes; Felix Bettonvil; Thomas Henning; Jean-Charles Augereau; Pierre Antonelli; Udo Beckmann; Roy van Boekel; Philippe Bendjoya; William C. Danchi; Carsten Dominik; Julien Drevon; Jack F. Gallimore; Uwe Graser; Matthias Heininger; Vincent Hocdé; Michiel Hogerheijde; Josef Hron; Caterina M.V. Impellizzeri; Lucia Klarmann; Elena Kokoulina; Lucas Labadie; Michael Lehmitz; Alexis Matter; Claudia Paladini; Eric Pantin; Jörg-Uwe Pott; Dieter Schertl; Anthony Soulain; Philippe Stee; Konrad Tristram; Jozsef Varga; Julien Woillez; Sebastian Wolf; Gideon Yoffe; and Gerard Zins. "Thermal imaging of dust hiding the black hole in NGC 1068." Nature, vol. 602, issue 7897 (Feb. 17, 2022): 403–407.
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Available via BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) Gallica @ https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6514280n/f267.item

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