Centaurus A (NGC 5128) is a peculiar galaxy located in the southern constellation Centaurus. It is the fifth brightest galaxy in the night sky, the nearest giant galaxy to the Milky Way, and one of the nearest radio galaxies to Earth. Radio galaxies are powered by a central supermassive black hole feeding on surrounding matter. In this case the black hole has a mass of 55 million solar masses. It is a starburst galaxy, one undergoing an exceptionally high rate of star formation. It is suspected that a galactic collision is responsible for the high rate of star birth.
Data capture: Rio Hurtado, Chile
Total integration time 29.5 hours in LRGB