Most radio galaxies are elliptical galaxies, or close relatives. Many radio galaxies lie in quite normal looking ellipticals, with some found in galaxies which look like ellipticals that have recently digested some kind of gas-rich galaxy.
Turbulent firestorm of starbirth along a nearly edge-on dust disk girdling Centaurus A, the nearest active galaxy to Earth. Credit: NOAO, E.J. Schreier (STScI) and NASA
Centauras A. Top, composite of visual, xray, and radio images. Below that are xray, line continuum radio, 21-cm radio and visual images. Credit: X-ray (NASA/CXC/M. Karovska et al.); Radio 21-cm image (NRAO/VLA/J.Van Gorkom/Schminovich et al.), Radio continuum image (NRAO/VLA/J.Condon et al.); Optical (Digitized Sky Survey U.K. Schmidt Image/ STScI)
Galaxy 0313-192, the first spiral galaxy know to be producing a giant radio-emitting jet. Credit: NASA, NRAO/AUI/NSF, W, Keel (U Alabama)
