Low-ionization nuclear emission-line region

Imagine you are looking at a space picture and you see a bright spot that is emitting light. That bright spot could be a Low-ionization nuclear emission-line region or LINER for short. A LINER is a special kind of region that can be found in the center of some galaxies.

Within the center of a galaxy, there is a supermassive black hole that pulls in nearby gas and dust. The gas and dust swirl around the black hole, and some of it gets heated up and emitted as light. This light can be detected by telescopes on Earth, and scientists study this light to learn more about the galaxy.

The light emitted by a LINER has a special type of electromagnetic radiation called emission lines. Think of these like different colored markers. Each marker represents a different chemical element in the gas that is swirling around the black hole. By looking at these markers, scientists can learn about the chemistry and conditions of the gas in the LINER.

Even though LINERs are found in the center of galaxies, they don't emit as much light as some other regions. This is because the gas and dust are not as hot and bright as in other regions. However, studying LINERs can still help us understand more about the galaxies they are in.