Abstract
Newly obtained high resolution optical images of the prototypical luminous radio galaxy Cygnus A (3C 405) indicate an inhomogeneous distribution of obscuring dust and - in combination with previous data — three types of radiation (stellar and blue featureless continuum as well as luminous line emission) in its central regions. The galaxy should not be classified as a colliding pair of galaxies, neither as a dust-lane galaxy. The alleged double nucleus finds its origin in heavy obscuration coupled to excess line emission in the central regions of an otherwise normal giant elliptical galaxy. A strongly reddened nuclear component, corresponding with the Cygnus A radio core, is found to emit faint but concentrated narrow line emission. All data appear consistent with identification of Cygnus A as a radio-loud quasar having its radio axis oriented at about 35° from the sky plane. The presumed dust torus obscuring the quasar continuum is inferred to be smaller than 800 parsecs.
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Based on observations obtained at the Nordic Optical Telescope, La Palma
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© 1993 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Vestergaard, M., Barthel, P.D. (1993). The Nucleus of the Cygnus a Galaxy at High Resolution. In: Beckman, J.E. (eds) The Nearest Active Galaxies. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1930-6_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1930-6_20
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-4853-8
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-1930-6
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