Messier 77 (also known as NGC 1068) is a barred spiral galaxy about 47 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus. Messier 77 is an active galaxy with an Active Galactic Nucleus
(AGN), which is obscured from view by astronomical dust at visible
wavelengths. The diameter of the molecular disk and hot plasma
associated with the obscuring material was first measured at radio
wavelengths by the VLBA and VLA. The hot dust around the nucleus was subsequently measured in the mid-infrared by the MIDI instrument at the VLTI. It is the brightest Seyfert galaxy and is of type 2. Messier 77's diameter is 170,000 light-years.
