Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Seth
This peculiar galaxy, beautifully streaked with tendrils of reddish dust, is captured here in wonderful detail by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
The galaxy is known as NGC 1022, and is officially classified as a barred spiral galaxy.
You can just about make out the bar of stars in the centre of the
galaxy in this image, with swirling arms emerging from its ends. This
bar is much less prominent than in some of the galaxy’s barred cousins
and gives the galaxy a rather squat appearance; but the lanes of dust
that swirl throughout its disc ensure it is no less beautiful.
Hubble observed this image as part of a study into one of
the Universe’s most notorious residents: black holes. These are
fundamental components of galaxies, and are thought to lurk at the
hearts of many — if not all — spirals. In fact, they may have quite a
large influence over their cosmic homes. Studies suggest that the mass
of the black hole sitting at a galaxy’s centre is linked with the
larger-scale properties of the galaxy itself. However, in order to learn
more, we need observational data of a wider and more diverse range of
galaxies — something Hubble’s study aims to provide.
Source: ESA/Hubble/potw
