The glowing orb in the centre of NASA’s Hubble photo is the distant galaxy NGC 4621, also known as Messier 59 (M59). Messier 59 is one of the largest elliptical galaxies in the galactic cluster Virgo, which is home to some 2,000 galaxies. And right at the centre of this beautiful galaxy is a supermassive black hole weighing 270 million times as the burning heart of our solar system. Messier 59 was first discovered in the 18th century by the German astronomer Johann Gottfried Koehler before being catalogued by French astronomer Charles Messier.
Messier’s contributions to astronomy have produced one of the first astronomical catalogues of deep space objects, known as the Messier catalogue.
The catalogue characterised a total of 110 star clusters and gassy nebulae.
The European Space Agency (ESA), which operates the Hubble telescope in partnership with NASA, said: “This luminous orb is the galaxy NGC 4621, better known as Messier 59.
“As this latter moniker indicates, the galaxy was listed in the famous catalogue of deep-sky objects compiled by French comet-hunter Charles Messier in 1779.
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“However, German astronomer Johann Gottfried Koehler is credited with discovering the galaxy just days before Messier added it to his collection.”
Recent observations of Messier 59 show the galaxy is elliptical – one of the three recognised galactic forms.
The other two types of galaxies are “spirals” like our own Milky Way galaxy and “irregulars” like galaxy NGC 1427A.
According to ESA, elliptical galaxies tend to be the most “evolved” type of galaxy with a full plethora of stars within.
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These stars include old stars, red stars and “little or no new star formation”.
ESA said: “Messier 59, however, bucks the trend somewhat; the galaxy does show signs of star formation, with some newborn stars residing within a disc near the core.”
At the heart of the galaxy, surrounding its supermassive black hole is a disc of stars and more than 2,000 so-called global clusters.
According to NASA, this is an incredibly high number of clusters.
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And the central part of the galaxy, which measures 200 light-years, appears to be rotating in the opposite direction to the rest of M59.
NASA said: “M59 can be found near M58 and M60 in the constellation Virgo.
“It is best seen in May. Small telescopes might reveal an ellipsoidal shape with a bright centre, but even larger scopes do not reveal much detail.”
The Hubble photo was selected on Monday, May 27, as ESA’s Hubble space photo of the week.