The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured detailed imagery of NGC 4698, a spiral galaxy situated approximately 55 million light-years away within the Virgo Cluster. While the galaxy shares some characteristics with the Milky Way, such as a thin disk containing gas, dust, and star clusters, it possesses a highly unusual internal structure.
Unlike typical spiral galaxies where arms wind toward the center, the spiral arms of NGC 4698 are primarily confined to the outer perimeter. The galaxy's core is defined by an elongated bulge composed of older, cooler stars orbiting a supermassive black hole. Researchers have observed that this central black hole is actively accumulating gas.
The most striking feature of NGC 4698 is its orientation. The central bulge extends at a right angle from the main disk, and the gas and stars within this region rotate perpendicular to the galaxy's primary plane. Astronomers hypothesize that this misalignment may be the result of a past minor galactic merger, noting the presence of a hydrogen tail extending from the galaxy as potential evidence of an external interaction. It is believed that the acquisition of outside gas could have formed this secondary, angled disk.
This observation is part of a broader study of the Virgo Cluster, intended to help scientists understand how environmental factors within a galaxy cluster influence stellar formation and galactic evolution. Source: NASA
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