Dusty filaments in NGC 4696
This picture, taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), shows NGC 4696, the largest galaxy in the Centaurus Cluster.
The new images taken with Hubble show the dusty filaments surrounding the centre of this huge galaxy in greater detail than ever before. These filaments loop and curl inwards in an intriguing spiral shape, swirling around the supermassive black hole at such a distance that they are dragged into and eventually consumed by the black hole itself.
Credit:NASA, ESA/Hubble, A. Fabian
About the Image
| Id: | heic1621a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 1 December 2016, 16:00 |
| Related releases: | heic1621 |
| Size: | 1500 x 1200 px |
About the Object
| Name: | NGC 4696 |
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Elliptical |
| Distance: | 150 million light years |
| Constellation: | Centaurus |
| Category: | Galaxies |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 12 48 49.26 |
| Position (Dec): | -41° 18' 43.43" |
| Field of view: | 1.32 x 1.06 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is -0.0° left of vertical |
View in ESASky:
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical B | 467 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
| Infrared I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
| Optical H-alpha | 665 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |