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.