NGC 4945 in Centaurus

NGC 4945 is a nearly edge-on galaxy in the southern constellation of Centaurus. Giant complexes of gas and dust in the disk give it a patchy appearance, similar to NGC 253, The Sculptor Galaxy. The active nucleus has starburst and Seyfert II characteristics. Its yellow color is due to its dust and our view through the dust of the Milky Way. The dust in NGC 4945 absorbs much of the light from bright, blue stars, and re-readiates it at infrared wavelengths. It is a very bright galaxy in the infrared. Water emission has been detected using the Very Long Baseline Array. It is 13 million light years distant at RA 13hr 5.4m and DEC -49d 28m. The image is ~ 40’x40′ and North is to the upper left.