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X-ray: NASA/CXC/Northwestern Univ./F. Yusef-Zadeh et al; Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKat; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk Astronomers have discovered a likely explanation for a fracture in a huge cosmic “bone” in the Milky Way galaxy, using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio telescopes.
The bone appears to have been struck by a fast-moving, rapidly spinning neutron star, or pulsar. Neutron stars are the densest known stars and form from the collapse and explosion of massive stars. They often receive a powerful kick from these explosions, sending them away from the explosion’s location at high speeds.
Enormous structures resembling bones or snakes are found near the center of the galaxy. These elongated formations are seen in radio waves and are threaded by magnetic fields running parallel to them. The radio waves are caused by energized particles spiraling along the magnetic fields.
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Northwestern Univ./F. Yusef-Zadeh et al; Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKat; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk This new image shows one of these cosmic “bones” called G359.13142-0.20005 (G359.13 for short), with X-ray data from Chandra (colored blue) and radio data from the MeerKAT radio array in South Africa (colored gray). Researchers also refer to G359.13 as the Snake.
Examining this image closely reveals the presence of a break, or fracture, in the otherwise continuous length of G359.13 seen in the image. The combined X-ray and radio data provides clues to the cause of this fracture.
Astronomers have now discovered an X-ray and radio source at the location of the fracture, using the data from Chandra and MeerKAT and the National Science Foundation’s Very Large Array. A likely pulsar responsible for these radio and X-ray signals is labeled. A possible extra source of X-rays located near the pulsar may come from electrons and positrons (the anti-matter counterparts to electrons) that have been accelerated to high energies.
The researchers think the pulsar likely caused the fracture by smashing into G359.13 at a speed between one million and two million miles per hour. This collision distorted the magnetic field in the bone, causing the radio signal to also become warped.
At about 230 light-years long, G359.13 is one of the longest and brightest of these structures in the Milky Way. To put this into context, there are more than 800 stars within that distance from Earth. G359.13 is located about 26,000 light-years from Earth, near the center of the Milky Way.
A paper describing these results appeared in the May 2024 issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and is available here. The authors of the study are Farhad Yusuf-Zadeh (Northwestern University), Jun-Hui Zhao (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian), Rick Arendt (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), Mark Wardle (Macquarie University, Australia), Craig Heinke (University of Alberta), Marc Royster (College of the Sequoias, California), Cornelia Lang (University of Iowa), and Joseph Michail (Northwestern).
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
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Visual Description
This release features two composite images of a long, thin, cosmic structure. With the structure’s vertical orientation, seemingly fragile dimensions, and pale grey color against the blackness of space, the images resemble medical X-rays of a long, thin, bone. The main image shows the structure in its entirety. The inset image is an annotated close-up highlighting an apparent fracture in the bone-like structure.
The structure, called G359.13, or “The Snake”, is a Galactic Center Filament. These filament formations are threaded by parallel magnetic fields, and spiraling, energized particles. The particles cause radio waves, which can be detected by radio arrays, in this case by the MeerKAT array in South Africa.
In the first composite image, the largely straight filament stretches from the top to the bottom of the vertical frame. At each end of the grey filament is a hazy grey cloud. The only color in the image is neon blue, found in a few specks which dot the blackness surrounding the structure. The blue represents X-rays seen by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
In the annotated close-up, one such speck appears to be interacting with the structure itself. This is a fast-moving, rapidly spinning neutron star, otherwise known as a pulsar. Astronomers believe that this pulsar has struck the filament halfway down its length, distorting the magnetic field and radio signal.
In both images, this distortion resembles a small break, or spur, in the bone-like filament.
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By NASA
Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts e-Books Online Activities Lithographs Fact Sheets Posters Hubble on the NASA App Glossary More 35th Anniversary Online Activities 4 Min Read Hubble Provides New View of Galactic Favorite
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the Sombrero Galaxy, also called Messier 104. Credits:
ESA/Hubble & NASA, K. Noll As part of ESA/Hubble’s 35th anniversary celebrations, the European Space Agency (ESA) is sharing a new image series revisiting stunning, previously released Hubble targets with the addition of the latest Hubble data and new processing techniques.
ESA/Hubble published a new image of NGC 346 as the first installment in the series. Now, they are revisiting a fan-favorite galaxy with new image processing techniques. The new image reveals finer detail in the galaxy’s disk, as well as more background stars and galaxies.
Over the past two decades, Hubble has released several images of the Sombrero Galaxy, including this well-known Hubble image from October 2003. In November 2024, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope also provided an entirely new perspective on this striking galaxy.
Located around 30 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo, the Sombrero Galaxy is instantly recognizable. Viewed nearly edge on, the galaxy’s softly luminous bulge and sharply outlined disk resemble the rounded crown and broad brim of the Mexican hat from which the galaxy gets its name.
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the Sombrero Galaxy, also called Messier 104. ESA/Hubble & NASA, K. Noll Though packed with stars, the Sombrero Galaxy is surprisingly not a hotbed of star formation. Less than one solar mass of gas is converted into stars within the knotted, dusty disk of the galaxy each year. Even the galaxy’s central supermassive black hole, which at nine billion solar masses is more than 2,000 times more massive than the Milky Way’s central black hole, is fairly calm.
The galaxy is too faint to spot with the unaided eye, but it is readily viewable with a modest amateur telescope. Seen from Earth, the galaxy spans a distance equivalent to roughly one-third the diameter of the full Moon. The galaxy’s size on the sky is too large to fit within Hubble’s narrow field of view, so this image is actually a mosaic of several images stitched together.
One of the things that makes this galaxy especially notable is its viewing angle, which is inclined just six degrees off of the galaxy’s equator. From this vantage point, intricate clumps and strands of dust stand out against the brilliant white galactic nucleus and bulge, creating an effect not unlike Saturn and its rings — but on an epic galactic scale.
At the same time, this extreme angle makes it difficult to discern the structure of the Sombrero Galaxy. It’s not clear whether it’s a spiral galaxy, like our own Milky Way, or an elliptical galaxy. Curiously, the galaxy’s disk seems like a fairly typical disk for a spiral galaxy, and its spheroidal bulge and halo seem fairly typical for an elliptical galaxy — but the combination of the two components resembles neither a spiral nor an elliptical galaxy.
Researchers used Hubble to investigate the Sombrero Galaxy, measuring the metals (what astronomers call elements heavier than helium) in stars in the galaxy’s expansive halo. This type of measurement can help astronomers better understand a galaxy’s history, potentially revealing whether it merged with other galaxies in the past. In the case of the Sombrero Galaxy, extremely metal-rich stars in the halo point to a possible merger with a massive galaxy several billion years ago. An ancient galactic clash, hinted at by Hubble’s sensitive measurements, could explain the Sombrero Galaxy’s distinctive appearance.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.
Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Explore Hubble Sombrero Galaxy Images and Science
Sombrero Galaxy
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Hubble’s Messier Catalog: M104 (Sombrero Galaxy)
Hubble easily resolves some of the Sombrero Galaxy’s roughly 2,000 globular clusters.
Beyond the Brim, Sombrero Galaxy’s Halo Suggests Turbulent Past
Surprising new data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope suggests the smooth, settled “brim” of the Sombrero galaxy’s disk may be concealing a turbulent past.
Heritage Project Celebrates Five Years of Harvesting the Best Images from Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Heritage Project released more than 65 images of dazzling celestial objects, including planets, dying stars, regions of star formation, clusters of stars, individual galaxies, and even clusters of galaxies.
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Last Updated Apr 16, 2025 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Contact Media Claire Andreoli
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ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Koss, A, Barth This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy IC 4709 located around 240 million light-years away in the southern constellation Telescopium. Hubble beautifully captures its faint halo and swirling disk filled with stars and dust bands. The compact region at its core might be the most remarkable sight. It holds an active galactic nucleus (AGN).
If IC 4709’s core just held stars, it wouldn’t be nearly as bright. Instead, it hosts a gargantuan black hole, 65 million times more massive than our Sun. A disk of gas spirals around and eventually into this black hole, crashing together and heating up as it spins. It reaches such high temperatures that it emits vast quantities of electromagnetic radiation, from infrared to visible to ultraviolet light and X-rays. A lane of dark dust, just visible at the center of the galaxy in the image above, obscures the AGN in IC 4709. The dust lane blocks any visible light emission from the nucleus itself. Hubble’s spectacular resolution, however, gives astronomers a detailed view of the interaction between the quite small AGN and its host galaxy. This is essential to understanding supermassive black holes in galaxies much more distant than IC 4709, where resolving such fine details is not possible.
This image incorporates data from two Hubble surveys of nearby AGNs originally identified by NASA’s Swift telescope. There are plans for Swift to collect new data on these galaxies. Swift houses three multiwavelength telescopes, collecting data in visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray light. Its X-ray component will allow SWIFT to directly see the X-rays from IC 4709’s AGN breaking through the obscuring dust. ESA’s Euclid telescope — currently surveying the dark universe in optical and infrared light — will also image IC 4709 and other local AGNs. Their data, along with Hubble’s, provides astronomers with complementary views across the electromagnetic spectrum. Such views are key to fully research and better understand black holes and their influence on their host galaxies.
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By NASA
4 Min Read NASA’s Webb Provides Another Look Into Galactic Collisions
This composite image of Arp 107 reveals a wealth of information about the star-formation and how these two galaxies collided hundreds of million years ago (full image below). Credits:
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Smile for the camera! An interaction between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy, collectively known as Arp 107, seems to have given the spiral a happier outlook thanks to the two bright “eyes” and the wide semicircular “smile.” The region has been observed before in infrared by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in 2005, however NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope displays it in much higher resolution. This image is a composite, combining observations from Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera).
Image A: Arp 107 (NIRCam and MIRI Image)
This composite image of Arp 107, created with data from the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), reveals a wealth of information about the star-formation and how these two galaxies collided hundreds of million years ago. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI NIRCam highlights the stars within both galaxies and reveals the connection between them: a transparent, white bridge of stars and gas pulled from both galaxies during their passage. MIRI data, represented in orange-red, shows star-forming regions and dust that is composed of soot-like organic molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. MIRI also provides a snapshot of the bright nucleus of the large spiral, home to a supermassive black hole.
Image B: Arp 107 (MIRI Image)
This image of Arp 107, shown by Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), reveals the supermassive black hole that lies in the center of the large spiral galaxy to the right. This black hole, which pulls much of the dust into lanes, also display’s Webb’s characteristic diffraction spikes, caused by the light that it emits interacting with the structure of the telescope itself. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI The spiral galaxy is classified as a Seyfert galaxy, one of the two largest groups of active galaxies, along with galaxies that host quasars. Seyfert galaxies aren’t as luminous and distant as quasars, making them a more convenient way to study similar phenomena in lower energy light, like infrared.
This galaxy pair is similar to the Cartwheel Galaxy, one of the first interacting galaxies that Webb observed. Arp 107 may have turned out very similar in appearance to the Cartwheel, but since the smaller elliptical galaxy likely had an off-center collision instead of a direct hit, the spiral galaxy got away with only its spiral arms being disturbed.
The collision isn’t as bad as it sounds. Although there was star formation occurring before, collisions between galaxies can compress gas, improving the conditions needed for more stars to form. On the other hand, as Webb reveals, collisions also disperse a lot of gas, potentially depriving new stars of the material they need to form.
Webb has captured these galaxies in the process of merging, which will take hundreds of millions of years. As the two galaxies rebuild after the chaos of their collision, Arp 107 may lose its smile, but it will inevitably turn into something just as interesting for future astronomers to study.
Arp 107 is located 465 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo Minor.
Video: Tour the Arp 107 Image
Video tour transcript
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI) The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
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Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov, Rob Gutro – rob.gutro@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
Related Information
Video: What happens when galaxies collide?
Interactive: Explore “Interacting Galaxies: Future of the Milky Way”
Other images: Hubble’s view of Arp 107 and Spitzer’s view of Arp 107
Video: Galaxy Collisions: Simulations vs. Observations
Article: More about Galaxy Evolution
Video: Learn more about galactic collisions
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Webb Mission Page
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Last Updated Sep 17, 2024 Editor Marty McCoy Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms
Active Galaxies Astrophysics Galaxies Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes Goddard Space Flight Center James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Science & Research Seyfert Galaxies The Universe View the full article
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By NASA
Hubble Space Telescope Home Hubble Examines a Busy… Missions Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Hubble News Archive Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts E-books Lithographs Fact Sheets Glossary Posters Hubble on the NASA App More Online Activities 2 min read
Hubble Examines a Busy Galactic Center
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the active spiral galaxy IC 4709. ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Koss, A, Barth This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy IC 4709a located around 240 million light-years away in the southern constellation Telescopium. Hubble beautifully captures its faint halo and swirling disk filled with stars and dust bands. The compact region at its core might be the most remarkable sight. It holds an active galactic nucleus (AGN).
If IC 4709’s core just held stars, it wouldn’t be nearly as bright. Instead, it hosts a gargantuan black hole, 65 million times more massive than our Sun. A disk of gas spirals around and eventually into this black hole, crashing together and heating up as it spins. It reaches such high temperatures that it emits vast quantities of electromagnetic radiation, from infrared to visible to ultraviolet light and X-rays. A lane of dark dust, just visible at the center of the galaxy in the image above, obscures the AGN in IC 4709. The dust lane blocks any visible light emission from the nucleus itself. Hubble’s spectacular resolution, however, gives astronomers a detailed view of the interaction between the quite small AGN and its host galaxy. This is essential to understanding supermassive black holes in galaxies much more distant than IC 4709, where resolving such fine details is not possible.
This image incorporates data from two Hubble surveys of nearby AGNs originally identified by NASA’s Swift telescope. There are plans for Swift to collect new data on these galaxies. Swift houses three multiwavelength telescopes, collecting data in visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray light. Its X-ray component will allow SWIFT to directly see the X-rays from IC 4709’s AGN breaking through the obscuring dust. ESA’s Euclid telescope — currently surveying the dark universe in optical and infrared light — will also image IC 4709 and other local AGNs. Their data, along with Hubble’s, provides astronomers with complementary views across the electromagnetic spectrum. Such views are key to fully research and better understand black holes and their influence on their host galaxies.
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Last Updated Sep 05, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
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