Hubble Captures Exquisite Image of Spiral Galaxy NGC 4941 Located 67 Million Light-Years from Earth

NASA / ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope captures an exquisite image of NGC 4941, a spiral galaxy located approximately 67 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo, also known as “The Maiden.” This relative proximity on a cosmic scale allows team to observe many intricate details, such as individual star clusters and filamentary clouds of gas as well as dust.

NGC 4941’s active galactic nucleus (AGN) is powered by a supermassive black hole at its core and actively consuming surrounding gas. This activity then forms a superheated accretion disc that emits light across multiple wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The black hole’s activity produces strong winds, radiation, and occasional jets, significantly impacting the galaxy’s environment on a scale that surpasses the influence of individual stars. Astronomers study this interaction between the black hole and its surroundings as a critical area of research.