'Cannibal' Galaxy ESO 243-49 in Phoenix: Black Hole Location | Hubble

'Cannibal' Galaxy ESO 243-49 in Phoenix: Unusual Black Hole Location | Hubble

A star cluster surrounds the wayward black hole in distant 'cannibal' galaxy ESO 243-49 located above the galactic plane (circled). This spectacular edge-on galaxy in the Phoenix constellation, called ESO 243-49, is home to an intermediate-mass black hole that may have come from a cannibalized dwarf galaxy. The black hole has an estimated mass of 20,000 Suns. This is an unlikely place for such a massive back hole to exist, unless it belonged to a small galaxy that was gravitationally torn apart by ESO 243-49.

The circle identifies a unique X-ray source that pinpoints the black hole. The X-rays are believed to be radiation from a hot accretion disc around the black hole. The blue light not only comes from a hot accretion disc, but also from a cluster of hot young stars that formed around the black hole. 

Galaxy ESO 243-49 is 290 million light-years from Earth. Hubble cannot resolve the stars individually because the suspected cluster is too far away. Their presence is inferred from the color and brightness of the light coming from the black hole’s location.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and S. Farrell (University of Sydney, Australia and University of Leicester, UK)

Release Date: Feb. 15, 2012

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarClusters #Galaxies #ESO24349 #ESO24349 #HLX1 #BlackHoles #PhoenixConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: Launch Recap | Kennedy Space Center

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: Launch Recap | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope successfully lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:26 a.m. EDT (1126 UTC) on Aug. 30, 2026.

Next, the telescope will go through initial tests and commissioning as it it travels to Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2 (L2), about 1 million miles away.

This video recaps the highlights from Roman's launch day.

Learn more at: http://nasa.gov/roman

The Roman telescope and the discoveries it will support:
https://www.stsci.edu/roman

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/

Roman’s namesake—Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer—made it her personal mission to make cosmic vistas readily accessible to all by paving the way for telescopes based in space.

“The mission will acquire enormous quantities of astronomical imagery that will permit scientists to make groundbreaking discoveries for decades to come, honoring Dr. Roman’s legacy in promoting scientific tools for the broader community,” said Jackie Townsend, Roman’s deputy project manager at NASA Goddard. “I like to think Dr. Roman would be extremely proud of her namesake telescope and thrilled to see what mysteries it will uncover in the coming years.”

Dr. Nancy Grace Roman: 
https://science.nasa.gov/people/nancy-roman/

Download the free Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope poster here: 

Print high resolution PDF (144.47 MB) 
https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/missions/rst/science/ROMAN-poster-24x36-2026.pdf

Print high resolution image PNG (45.60 MB)
https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/missions/rst/science/ROMAN-poster2026.png

Smaller image for web view PNG (3.75 MB)
https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/missions/rst/science/ROMAN-poster2026-web.png

Video Credit: NASA 
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: Aug. 31, 2026

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