MIDI observations of the nuclear obscuring torus in NGC 1068

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.