Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced a spectacular image of NGC 4951, a spiral galaxy with an active galactic center in the constellation of Virgo.
This Hubble image shows NGC 4951, a spiral galaxy some 49 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. Image credit: NASA / ESA / D. Thilker, Johns Hopkins University / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.
NGC 4951 is located approximately 49 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Virgo.
Otherwise known as AGC 530015, IRAS 13025-0613 or LEDA 45246, this galaxy has a diameter of about 65,000 light-years.
It was discovered on April 17, 1784 by the German-born British astronomer William Herschel.
“NGC 4951 is classified as a Seyfert galaxy, which means that it’s an extremely energetic type of galaxy with an active galactic nucleus (AGN),” the Hubble astronomers said.
“However, Seyfert galaxies are unique from other sorts of AGNs because the galaxy itself can still be clearly seen — different types of AGNs are so bright that it’s nearly impossible to observe the actual galaxy that they reside within.”
“AGNs like NGC 4951 are powered by supermassive black holes,” they explained.
“As matter whirls into the black hole, it generates radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, making the AGN shine brightly.”
“Hubble helped prove that supermassive black holes exist at the core of almost every galaxy in our Universe,” the astronomers said.
“Before the telescope launched into low-Earth orbit in 1990, we only theorized about their existence.”
“The mission verified their existence by observing the undeniable effects of black holes, like jets of material ejecting from black holes and disks of gas and dust revolving around those black holes at very high speeds.”
The new observations of NGC 4951 were taken to provide valuable data for the astronomers studying how galaxies evolve, with a particular focus on the star formation process.
“Hubble gathered this information, which is being combined with observations with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to support a JWST Treasury program,” the researchers said.
“Treasury programs collect observations that focus on the potential to solve multiple scientific problems with a single, coherent dataset and enable a variety of compelling scientific investigations.”