The Galaxy NGC 4450 is Host to a Supermassive Black Hole
The nearby spiral galaxy NGC 4450 is one of the galaxies in which Hans-Walter Rix and collaborators have identified a supermassive black hole. The picture reveals nothing unusual in the galaxy centre. Yet, the group of astronomers have measured wildly rotating gas in a disk around the centre of the galaxy with the STIS instrument onboard Hubble.
Credit:ESA HEIC/Hans-Walter Rix
About the Image
| Id: | heic0002b |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 5 June 2000, 15:00 |
| Related releases: | heic0002 |
| Size: | 1478 x 1506 px |
About the Object
| Name: | NGC 4450 |
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral Local Universe : Galaxy : Component : Central Black Hole |
| Distance: | 55 million light years |
| Constellation: | Coma Berenices |
| Category: | Galaxies |
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 12 28 28.21 |
| Position (Dec): | 17° 5' 20.77" |
| Field of view: | 2.45 x 2.50 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 84.2° right of vertical |
View in ESASky:
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical V | 555 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
| Infrared I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |