2 min read

Hubble Images a Dwarf Spiral with Multiple Mysteries

A portion of the galaxy fills the upper right half of the image, blue and red clusters of stars and gas dot its edge, a bright foreground star sits to the lower left of the galaxy
NASA, ESA, and H. Feng (Tsinghua University); Image processing: G. Kober (NASA Goddard/Catholic University of America)

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows a section of the spiral galaxy nicknamed the Needle’s Eye – an appropriately diminutive name for a dwarf spiral galaxy. The Needle’s Eye, also known as NGC 247 and Caldwell 62, is located about 11 million light-years away in the Sculptor Group – the closest group of galaxies to our own (the Local Group). The galaxy was given its nickname because one end of it features a strange void of stars (not seen in this Hubble close-up).

This image zooms into the very edge of the galaxy, on the opposite side of the void. Below the edge of the galaxy’s disk, smaller and more distant galaxies are visible, as well as a very bright foreground star that lies between us and NGC 247. Bright red indicates areas of high-density gas and dust, and robust star formation rather close to the edge of the galaxy.

The “hole” in Caldwell 62 on the other side of the galaxy is a big mystery. There is a shortage of gas in that part of the galaxy, which means there isn’t much material from which new stars can form. Since star formation has halted in this area, old, faint stars populate the void. Scientists still don’t know how this strange feature formed, but studies hint toward past gravitational interactions with another galaxy.

Caldwell 62 is also home to an object known as an ultraluminous X-ray source. Scientists have long debated the nature of these super-bright X-ray sources. Are they stellar-mass black holes gorging on unusually large amounts of gas? Or are they long-sought “intermediate-mass” black holes, dozens of times more massive than their stellar counterparts but smaller than the monster black holes in the centers of most galaxies? By studying Caldwell 62 in multiple forms of light (visible and infrared using Hubble, and X-rays using the Chandra X-ray Observatory), astronomers have found signs that the X-rays are coming from a disk around an intermediate-mass black hole.

Media Contacts:

Claire Andreoli
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
301-286-1940

Share

Details

Last Updated
Oct 04, 2023
Editor
NASA Hubble Mission Team
Contact
NASA Hubble Mission Team

Related Terms

Explore More

A spiral galaxy, seen face-on to the viewer. The bright center of the galaxy is crossed by a glowing bar, and it is surrounded by tightly wound spiral arms, forming a circular shape with relatively clear edges. Faraway galaxies are visible around it, along with a few bright stars, on a dark background. One star to the right of the galaxy is very large and extremely bright with long diffraction spikes.
2 min read

Hubble Captures a Bright Galactic and Stellar Duo

Article2 hours ago
This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the barred spiral galaxy UGC 12158. The majestic galaxy has a pinwheel shape made up of bright blue stars wound around a yellow-white hub of central stars. The hub has a slash of stars across it, called a bar. The galaxy is tilted face-on to our view from Earth. A slightly s-shaped white line across the top is a Hubble image is of an asteroid streaking across Hubble's view. It looks dashed because the image is a combination of several exposures of the asteroid flying by like a race car.
5 min read

Hubble Goes Hunting for Small Main Belt Asteroids

Article1 day ago
Artist concept of TESS spacecraft.
2 min read

NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Operations

Article2 days ago
Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

James Webb Space Telescope

The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.

Perseverance Rover

Parker Solar Probe

Juno