images

Dust disk around a black hole in galaxy NGC 7052

by

Nasa/Stsci/Novapix

Reference

a-gax70-52001

Date

2006-09-12

A 3,700 light-year-diameter dust disk encircles a 300 million solar-mass black hole in the center of the elliptical galaxy NGC 7052. The disk, possibly a remnant of an ancient galaxy collision, will be swallowed up by the black hole in several billion years. This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image was taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, in visible light. NGC 7052 is located in the constellation of Vulpecula, 191 million light-years from Earth.