Circinus Galaxy-X-ray/Optical
This side-by-side image shows the relation of the Chandra image (left) to the Hubble Space Telescope image (right).
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/Penn State/F. Bauer et al.; Optical: NASA/A.Wilson et al.)

Scale: 80 arcsec per side in Chandra image.

Circinus Galaxy-Optical
Much of the gas in the disk of the Circinus spiral is concentrated in two specific rings -- a larger one of diameter 1,300 light years another with a diameter of 260 light years. In the Hubble image, the smaller inner ring is located on the inside of the green disk. The larger outer ring extends off the image and is in the plane of the galaxy's disk. This Hubble Space Telescope image of the Circinus Galaxy was taken on April 10, 1999 with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2.
(Credit: NASA/A.Wilson et al.)

Circinus Galaxy-2MASS
A dark dust lane, running to the south and east of the nucleus, is apparent in this 2MASS image, which covers the near-infrared portion of the spectrum. The disk of the galaxy, overall, is much fainter than the bright nucleus. Maiolino et al. propose, based on Hubble Space Telescope near-infrared NICMOS imaging, that this dust lane traces a nuclear gas bar that may be responsible for feeding the active nucleus.
(Credit: S. Van Dyk (IPAC))

Chandra X-ray Image with Scale Bar

Scale bar = 10 arcsec
(Credit: NASA/Penn State/F.Bauer et al.)