The Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) of Seyfert galaxy M77 (NGC
1068), about 60 million light years from Earth, in the X-ray
light, as photographed by Chandra X-ray Observatory. A composite
Chandra X-ray (blue/green) and Hubble optical (red) image of M77
(NGC 1068) shows hot gas blowing away from a central
supermassive object at speeds averaging about 1 million miles
per hour. The elongated shape of the gas cloud is thought to be
due to the funneling effect of a torus, or doughnut-shaped
cloud, of cool gas and dust that surrounds the central object,
which many astronomers think is a black hole. The X-rays are
scattered and reflected X-rays that are probably coming from a
hidden disk of hot gas formed as matter swirls very near the
black hole. Regions of intense star formation in the inner
spiral arms of the galaxy are highlighted by the optical
emission. This image extends over a field 36 arcsec on a side.
This three-color high energy X-ray image (red =1.3-3 keV, green
= 3-6 keV, blue = 6-8 keV) of NGC 1068 show