22 February 2021
Evil eye
© ESA/Hubble & NASA
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured this striking image of NGC 4826, a spiral galaxy often referred to as the ‘Evil Eye’ or ‘Black Eye’ Galaxy due to the dark cloud of dust that blankets one side. The galaxy is 17 million light years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair) and intrigues astronomers due to its peculiar internal motion. Remarkably, the inner and outer gas regions of the galaxy rotate in opposite directions. The strange stirring of gases could be evidence of a recent merger. Where the rotating gases collide, new stars are being formed.