Supermassive black hole at the heart of NGC 5548
Date: 19 June 2014
Satellite: Hubble Space Telescope
Depicts: NGC 5548
Copyright: ESA/Hubble and NASA. Acknowledgement: Davide de Martin
This is the galaxy known as NGC 5548. At its heart, though not visible here, is a supermassive black hole behaving in a strange and unexpected manner. Researchers detected a clumpy gas stream flowing quickly outwards and blocking 90 percent of the X-rays emitted by the black hole. This activity could provide insights into how supermassive black holes interact with their host galaxies.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
