HST IMAGING OF THE INNER 3 ARCSECONDS OF NGC-1068 IN THE LIGHT OF [OIII]LAMBDA-5007

We have used the Planetary Camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope to obtain a high spatial resolution [O III] lambda-5007 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 approximately 0.1"-0.2" (approximately 6-12h pc; H0 = 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] lambda-5007 clouds, although there are also bright emission-line clouds for which there are no radio counterparts. Based on the combined [O III] lambda-5007 and radio continuum morphology, we conclude that the hidden nucleus is located in the southern radio component, together with the H2O megamaser.