NGC 7496, a dusty barred spiral galaxy located 24 million light-years away in the constellation Grus, harbors a ravenous supermassive black hole at its core.
The Hubble Space Telescope’s latest Picture of the Week features NGC 7496, a galaxy more than 24 million light-years away in the constellation Grus (The Crane). This dusty spiral galaxy displays a bright central bar made of stars stretching across its core. At its center lies a supermassive black hole that draws in gas and matter, making NGC 7496 an example of a galaxy with an active nucleus.
Observing a Galaxy Across the Spectrum
To better understand NGC 7496’s structure and activity, astronomers have studied it in many forms of light, from radio waves to ultraviolet. These observations help them explore its energetic core, the thick dust clouds that veil it, and the processes that create new stars. Hubble first examined this galaxy as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) program. The PHANGS collaboration combines the strengths of several world-class observatories, including the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the Very Large Telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), alongside Hubble. Remarkably, NGC 7496 was the very first galaxy that Webb studied from the PHANGS sample (see image below).
Revealing Stellar Birth Through Hubble’s Ultraviolet Vision
Each of these telescopes provides a unique perspective on NGC 7496. Hubble’s sharp ultraviolet imaging reveals clusters of newly formed stars radiating intense energy. By examining these details, astronomers can determine the ages and masses of the young stars and see how much of their light is dimmed by surrounding dust.
New Data Illuminate the Galaxy’s Fiery Clouds
An earlier Hubble image of NGC 7496 was shared in 2022. The new view adds fresh observations that emphasize brilliant clusters of stars wrapped in red clouds of glowing hydrogen gas. These findings help scientists study the glowing nebulae that form when massive stars explode as supernovaeand those that give rise to new generations of stars.
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