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K. I. Kellermann (NRAO), R. C. Vermeulen (NFRA), M. H. Cohen (Caltech), J. A. Zensus (MPIfR)
NGC 1052 is a nearby (z=0.0049) elliptical galaxy with a strong flat spectrum compact variable radio nucleus. Observations made at 2 cm over a period of 5 years show two oppositely directed, slightly curved jets emanating from the central engine with an apparent separation velocity about 1.3 mas per year, corresponding to an apparent linear velocity of 0.5c (H= 65 km/sec/Mpc). Multi-wavelength observations made at 0.7, 2, 3.6, 6, 18, and 21 cm show the presence of free-free absorption in the nucleus, apparently by ionized circumnuclear gas organized in a structure perpendicular to the jets. The gas is seen in the immediate vicinity of the nucleus and along an increasingly long section of the receding western jet from less than 15 light days at 0.7 cm, to more than 3 light years at 21 cm. The presence of molecular gas is evident from the discovery of water vapor maser spots lying along the western counter-jet (Claussen et al. 1998, ApJL, 500, L129). Our VLBA observations of HI absorption toward NGC 1052 show that atomic gas close to the jet is also present in the nuclear region.
The subparsec scale jets of NGC 1052 appear to propagate through a rich and complex medium that may effect both the emission and kinematic characteristics of the jet plasma. The relatively small extent of this medium suggests that it may be the same as the broad-line region surrounding the nucleus of the galaxy.
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