1996•Symposium - International Astronomical UnionOpen access
A Counterjet in the Nucleus of Centaurus A
Dayton L. Jones, S. J. Tingay, R. A. Preston, D. L. Jauncey, J. E. Reynolds, J. E. J. Lovell, P. M. McCulloch, A. K. Tzioumis, M. E. Costa, D. W. Murphy, D. L. Meier, R. W. Clay, P. G. Edwards, S. P. Ellingsen, R. H. Ferris, R. G. Gough, P. Harbison, P. A. Jones, Edward King, A. J. Kemball, V. Migenes, G. D. Nicolson, M. W. Sinclair, T. D. van Ommen, R. M. Wark, Graeme L. White
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Abstract
Centaurus A (NGC 5128) is the nearest giant radio galaxy. It is a Fanaroff-Riley type 1 (low luminosity) radio source, but the compact radio source in the nucleus is strong enough that VLBI imaging has been possible with both the SHEVE array and the VLBA at several frequencies. These observations have detected a sub-parsec scale counterjet. This shows that jet formation in at least some FR I sources is intrinsically two-sided over very small distances and the radio jets in Centaurus A are probably only moderately relativistic. We also find evidence that the center of activity in Centaurus A is partially obscured by a disk or torus of dense plasma.
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