An image of the dust sublimation region in the nucleus of NGC 1068

We present near-infrared interferometric data on the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068, obtained with the GRAVITY instrument on the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope Interferometer. The extensive baseline coverage from 5 to 60 M lambda allowed us to reconstruct a continuum image of the nucleus with an unrivaled 0.2 pc resolution in the K-band. We find a thin ring-like structure of emission with a radius r=0.24 +/- 0.03 pc, inclination i=70 +/- 5 degrees, position angle PA=-50 +/- 4 degrees, and h/r< 0.14, which we associate with the dust sublimation region. The observed morphology is inconsistent with the expected signatures of a geometrically and optically thick torus. Instead, the infrared emission shows a striking resemblance to the 22 GHz maser disc, which suggests they share a common region of origin. The near-infrared spectral energy distribution indicates a bolometric luminosity of (0.4-4.7) x 10(45) erg s(-1), behind a large A(K)approximate to 5.5 (A(V)approximate to 90) screen of extinction that also appears to contribute significantly to obscuring the broad line region