Centaurus A (NGC 5128) 185MHz MWA image

While simulations and observations show that this must be the case, the range of physical scales (over ten orders of magnitude) and paucity of available tracers, make both the simulation and observation of these effects difficult.

By serendipity, there lies an active galaxy, Centaurus A (NGC 5128), at such a close proximity as to allow its observation over this entire range of scales and across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. In the radio band, however, details on scales of 10-100kpc from the supermassive black hole have so far been obscured by instrumental limitations. Here we report low-frequency radio observations that overcome these limitations and show evidence for a broad, bipolar outflow with velocity 1100 km per s and mass outflow rate of 2.9 solar masses per year on these scales.