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University of Arizona astronomers have captured unprecedented infrared images of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) using the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer. This achievement, conducted in collaboration with researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany, has been documented in the journal Nature Astronomy.

"The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer can be considered the first extremely large telescope, so it's very exciting to prove this is possible," stated Jacob Isbell, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory and lead author of the study.

Active galactic nuclei are found at the centers of certain galaxies where supermassive black holes reside. These black holes release significant energy as matter falls into them. The AGN within galaxy NGC 1068, one of the closest active examples neighboring the Milky Way, was chosen for this study due to its brightness.

The Large Binocular Telescope is situated on Mount Graham near Tucson and operates two 8.4-meter mirrors independently. The interferometer combines light from both mirrors to achieve higher resolution observations than would be possible with each mirror alone. This method has previously been used to study Jupiter's moon Io and encouraged researchers to apply it to AGN.

"The AGN within galaxy NGC 1068 is especially bright, so it was the perfect opportunity to test this method," Isbell said. "These are the highest resolution direct images of an AGN taken so far."

Led by Steve Ertel, associate astronomer at Steward Observatory, the team observed several cosmic phenomena occurring simultaneously in NGC 1068's AGN. They identified a dusty wind caused by radiation pressure from a bright disk around the black hole and noted material illuminated by a radio jet interacting with molecular gas and dust clouds.

Direct imaging with telescopes like the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer allows scientists to distinguish feedback from radio jets and dusty winds separately—an advancement over previous methods that lacked sufficient resolution.

"This type of imaging can be used on any astronomical object," Isbell explained. "We've already started looking at disks around stars or very large, evolved stars, which have dusty envelopes around them."

Funding for this research came from NASA through its Exoplanet Research Program under Grant No. 80NSSC21K0394 and France's Agence Nationale de la Recherche via grant “AGN MELBa” ANR-21-CE31-0011.