We report the results of a broadband ( 0.1–100 keV ) X-ray observation of the nearby elliptical galaxy NGC 1052 , performed with the BeppoSAX observatory .
We confirm the presence of a bright ( 2–10 keV luminosity \sim 4 \times 10 ^ { 42 } erg s ^ { -1 } ) and strongly absorbed ( N _ { H } \sim 2 \times 10 ^ { 23 } cm ^ { -2 } ) X-ray source .
The flatness of the X-ray spectrum ( photon index , \Gamma , \simeq 1.4 ) , the estimated low accretion rate ( \dot { m } \equiv \dot { M } / \dot { M } _ { Edd } \sim 10 ^ { -4 } ) and the radio-to-X-ray spectral energy distribution suggest that this observation may represent the first direct measurement above 10 keV of an accretion-dominated flow in an elliptical galaxy .