Animation of Unified AGN Model

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Animation of Unified AGN Model

Astronomers used the NSF’s Karl Jansky Very Large Array to observe the dusty, doughnut-shaped torus surrounding the black hole and accretion disk at the center of a powerful radio galaxy. Animation depicts how the torus can obscure different features when viewed from different angles. This explains how the same type of “central engine” can appear different, leading to different names for objects seen from different angles.

Credit: Bill Saxton, Sophia Dagnello, NRAO/AUI/NSF

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