Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 November 2004
We have taken N-band spectra of the nuclear dust regions of NGC 1068 with the newly commissioned Mid-InfrareD-Interferometer (MIDI), with a spatial resolution of ∼10 milliarcsec (∼1 pc). We resolve the near-nuclear emission into a warm component (∼300 K) 2.1×3.4 pc in size and a smaller hot component. We see a strong silicate absorption in front of the central component that differs in form from normal olivine-type profiles. This thick dust structure cannot be supported for the length of the active phase of the AGN by gas pressure or turbulent motions.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html