 Using interferometry it has been mapped in X-ray with the AXAF CCD Imaging Spectrometer on the Chandra X-ray Observatory, in infrared with the Hubble Space Telescope, and in radio with the Very Long Baseline Array.Measurements with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer and other instruments looked at the distribution of molecules such as CO, CN, HCN, and HCO+ as well as atomic carbon.From these observations APM 08279+5255 is a giant elliptical galaxy with large amounts of gas and dust and an active galactic nucleus (AGN) at its core.