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The celestial object that is displayed in this NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope\u00a0Picture of the Week\u00a0is NGC 7496, a galaxy located over 24 million light-years away in the constellation\u00a0Grus\u00a0(The Crane). NGC 7496 is a dusty\u00a0spiral galaxy\u00a0with a bar of stars stretching across its centre. Adding to its intrigue is an\u00a0active galactic nucleus: a supermassive black hole that feasts on gas at the very heart of the galaxy.<\/p>\n
Astronomers have observed NGC 7496 at\u00a0wavelengths\u00a0from radio to ultraviolet in order to study the galaxy\u2019s active galactic nucleus, dust clouds, and star formation. Hubble first observed this galaxy as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) programme. This programme has enlisted the abilities of several powerful astronomical observatories, including the Atacama Large Millimetre\/submillimetre Array (ALMA), the Very Large Telescope, and the NASA\/ESA\/CSA\u00a0James Webb Space Telescope, in addition to Hubble. NGC 7496 was\u00a0the first galaxy in the PHANGS sample that Webb observed.<\/p>\n
Each of these observatories offers a different perspective on this well-studied galaxy. With its unique ultraviolet capabilities and fine resolution, Hubble\u2019s view reveals young star clusters bursting with high-energy radiation. Hubble\u2019s observations of NGC 7496 help to reveal the ages and masses of these young stars, as well as the extent to which their starlight is blocked by dust.<\/p>\n
A previous Hubble image of NGC 7496 was\u00a0released in 2022. Today\u2019s image incorporates new data that highlight the galaxy\u2019s star clusters, which are surrounded by glowing red clouds of hydrogen gas. Astronomers collected these data in order to study\u00a0nebulae\u00a0like those that massive stars leave behind when they explode as\u00a0supernovae\u00a0and those from which newborn stars are made.<\/p>\n
[Image Description:<\/i>\u00a0A spiral galaxy featuring a bright, glowing core that is crossed by a horizontal bar of yellowish light. Spiral arms emerge from each end of this bar and wrap around it, creating a disc that is stretched out to the right. Some areas, mostly along the arms, glow pink where stars are forming in nebulae. Webs of dark reddish dust also follow the arms. A star in our galaxy shines prominently, off to the right.]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n