VLTI/MIDI AGN Large Program observations

Yet, even its most basic structural properties (such as its extent, geometry and elongation) are unknown for all but a few archetypal objects. In order to understand how the properties of AGN tori are related to feeding and obscuration, we need to resolve the matter distribution on parsec scales.

Since most AGNs are unresolved in the mid-infrared, even with the largest telescopes, we utilize the MID-infrared interferometric Instrument (MIDI) at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) that is sensitive to structures as small as a few milli-arcseconds (mas). We present here an extensive amount of new interferometric observations from the MIDI AGN Large Program (2009-2011) and add data from the archive to give a complete view of the existing MIDI observations of AGNs.