AGN
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Astronomy & Space
| Stands for | Active galactic nucleus |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
AGN stands for Active galactic nucleus, an astronomy & Space abbreviation.
Compact region at the center of a galaxy that outshines all its stars, powered by gas spiraling into a supermassive black hole. AGN types, including quasars, Seyfert galaxies, blazars and radio galaxies, are thought to be the same phenomenon viewed at different angles and power levels.
Example: X-ray observations revealed a heavily obscured AGN hidden behind dust in the galaxy's core.
Usage notes
Carl Seyfert described galaxies with unusually bright nuclei in 1943. Jets from some AGN stretch for hundreds of thousands of light-years and can heat gas throughout a galaxy cluster. Energy from AGN may regulate star formation in their host galaxies, a process called feedback.
Related abbreviations
More astronomy & Space abbreviations
- ALMA – Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array
- AU – Astronomical unit
- BBN – Big Bang nucleosynthesis
- BH – Black hole
- CMB – Cosmic microwave background
- CME – Coronal mass ejection
- CNSA – China National Space Administration
- COBE – Cosmic Background Explorer
- CSM – Command and Service Module
- DART – Double Asteroid Redirection Test
- DE – Dark energy
- Dec – Declination