HST imaging of the inner 3 arcseconds of NGC 1068 in the light of [O III] λ5007

The Planetary Camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope has been used to obtain a high spatial resolution [O III] λ5007 image of the nucleus of NGC 1068. This image resolves the narrow-line region into several distinct clouds arranged in an apparently conical geometry. The individual emission-line regions appear to be resolved, with sizes ∼ 0.1″- 0.2″ (∼ 6-12h pc; H 0 = 100h -1 km s -1 Mpc -1 ). There is a strong apparent correspondence between the 1.3 cm radio triple structure and several of the [O III] λ5007 clouds, although there are also bright emission-line clouds for which there are no radio counterparts.