We present initial results from a new 440-ks Chandra HETG GTO
observation of the canonical Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068. The proximity of NGC
1068, together with Chandra’s superb spatial and spectral resolution, allow an
unprecedented view of its nucleus and circumnuclear NLR. We perform the first
spatially resolved high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of the ‘ionization cone’ in
any AGN, and use the sensitive line diagnostics offered by the HETG to measure
the ionization state, density, and temperature at discrete points along the ionized
NLR. We argue that the NLR takes the form of outflowing photoionized gas,
rather than gas that has been collisionally ionized by the small-scale radio jet in
NGC 1068. We investigate evidence for any velocity gradients in the outflow, and
describe our next steps in modeling the spatially resolved spectra as a function
of distance from the nucleus