The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals the galaxy's glowing center and majestic spiral arms in this new image of NGC 4102.
This Hubble image shows NGC 4102, an intermediate spiral galaxy located 55.4 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Image credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble/G. Fabbiano.
NGK 4102 located about 55.4 million light years away in the northern constellation Ursa Major.
This intermediate spiral galaxy was discovered German-British astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1789.
NGC 4102, also known as UGC 7096, is home to an active galactic nucleus.
“Active galactic nuclei are luminous galactic centers powered by supermassive black holes that contain millions to billions of times the mass of our Sun,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.
“As these black holes capture gas from their surroundings and pull it in with their intense gravitational pull, the gas becomes so hot that it begins to glow and emit light ranging from X-rays to radio wavelengths.”
“NGC 4102 provides an ideal opportunity to study the ways in which active galactic nuclei interact with their host galaxies,” they said.
“Active galactic nuclei come in a variety of types, from extremely powerful types that consume huge amounts of matter and emit jets of charged particles, to quieter types that absorb gas from their surroundings and glow more faintly.”
“NGC 4102 likely falls into the latter category. It is classified as a Compton thickness (a way of saying its core is hidden by a thick layer of gas) and a low-ionization nuclear emission line region (LINER).”
“LINER galaxies are identified by the emission lines of certain weakly ionized elements, and they may be powered by a supermassive black hole that lazily collects gas around itself.”
Previous image of NGC 4102 based on data obtained with Hubble Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), was released in 2014.
“The new version presents an updated view of the galaxy using data Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), which replaced WFPC2 in 2009 and improved its resolution and field of view,” the researchers said.
“The new observations come from a program that will combine visible light images from Hubble with X-ray information from the Chandra X-ray Observatory to study the relationship between NGC 4102 and its active galactic nucleus.”
