Active Galactic Nuclei

Merging X-ray data (blue) from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory with microwave (orange) and visible images reveals the jets and radio-emitting lobes emanating from Centaurus A's central black hole.

Just like monitoring the brightness of variable stars, monitoring active galaxies means observing a fixed number of galaxies on a regular basis and measuring their brightness. The brightness variation comes from activity surrounding a central black hole and working with other amateur and professional astronomers can allow accurate light curves to be built and more learned about their nature.(Jul 29, 2013 03:48 PM ET // by Mark Thompson)