Close-up—A Well-studied Spiral Galaxy: NGC 7496 in Grus | Hubble

Close-up—A Well-studied Spiral Galaxy: NGC 7496 in Grus | Hubble

The celestial object that is displayed in this NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture is NGC 7496, a galaxy located over 24 million light-years away in the constellation Grus (The Crane). NGC 7496 is a dusty spiral galaxy with a bar of stars stretching across its center. Adding to its intrigue is an active galactic nucleus: a supermassive black hole that feasts on gas at the very heart of the galaxy.

Astronomers have observed NGC 7496 at wavelengths from radio to ultraviolet in order to study the galaxy’s active galactic nucleus, dust clouds, and star formation. Hubble first observed this galaxy as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) program. With its unique ultraviolet capabilities and fine resolution, Hubble’s view reveals young star clusters bursting with high-energy radiation. Hubble’s observations of NGC 7496 help to reveal the ages and masses of these young stars, as well as the extent to which their starlight is blocked by dust.

This Hubble image incorporates new data that highlight the galaxy’s star clusters that are surrounded by glowing red clouds of hydrogen gas. Astronomers collected these data in order to study nebulae like those that massive stars leave behind when they explode as supernovae and that become the source of newborn stars.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy featuring a bright, glowing core that is crossed by a horizontal bar of yellowish light. Spiral arms emerge from each end of this bar and wrap around it, creating a disc that is stretched out to the right. Mostly along the arms are areas glowing in pink where stars are forming in nebulae. Webs of dark reddish dust also follow the arms. A star in our galaxy shines prominently, off to the right.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST team, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)

Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 13, 2025

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