Milky Way's Not-so-distant Cousin Likely Harbors Supermassive Black Hole
ESO has released a striking new image of a nearby galaxy that many astronomers think closely resembles our own Milky Way. Though the galaxy is seen edge-on, observations of NGC 4945 suggest that this hive of stars is a spiral galaxy much like our own, with swirling, luminous arms and a bar-shaped central region.
These resemblances aside, NGC 4945 has a brighter centre that likely harbours a supermassive black hole, which is devouring reams of matter and blasting energy out into space.
As NGC 4945 is only about 13 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus (the Centaur), a modest telescope is sufficient for skygazers to spot this remarkable galaxy. NGC 4945’s designation comes from its entry number in the New General Catalogue compiled by the Danish–Irish astronomer John Louis Emil Dreyer in the 1880s. James Dunlop, a Scottish astronomer, is credited with originally discovering NGC 4945 in 1826 from Australia.
