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The distant sphere at the center of NASA's Hubble photo is the distant galaxy NGC 4621, also known as Messier 59 (M59). Messier 59 is one of the largest elliptical galaxies of the Virgo galactic group, home to some 2,000 galaxies. And in the center of this beautiful galaxy is a supermassive black hole weighing 270 million times, the burning heart of our solar system. Messier 59 was discovered in the 18th century by the German astronomer Johann Gottfried Koehler before being cataloged by the French astronomer Charles Messier.
Messier's contributions to astronomy gave one of the first astronomical catalogs of deep space objects, called the Messier catalog.
The catalog contained a total of 110 star clusters and gaseous nebulae.
The European Space Agency (ESA), which operates the Hubble telescope in partnership with NASA, said: "This bright orb is the NGC 4621 galaxy, better known as the Messier 59.
"As this last nickname indicates, the galaxy figured in the famous catalog of deep sky objects set by the French comet hunter Charles Messier in 1779.
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"However, the German astronomer Johann Gottfried Koehler would have discovered the galaxy just days before Messier added it to his collection."
Recent observations by Messier 59 show that the galaxy is elliptical – one of three recognized galactic forms.
The other two types of galaxies are "spirals" like our own galaxy of the Milky Way and "irregular" galaxies like galaxy NGC 1427A.
According to ESA, elliptical galaxies tend to be the most "evolved" galaxy type with a plethora of stars in the interior.
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These stars include ancient stars, red stars and "little or no new star formation".
ESA said: "Messier 59, however, counteracts the trend somewhat; the galaxy shows signs of star formation, some newborn stars residing in a disk near the nucleus. "
At the heart of the galaxy, its supermassive black hole is surrounded by a disc of stars and more than 2,000 so-called global clusters.
According to NASA, the number of clusters is incredibly high.
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And the central part of the galaxy, which is 200 light years away, seems to be moving in the opposite direction to the rest of M59.
NASA said, "One can find M59 near M58 and M60 in the constellation Virgo.
"We can see it better in May. Small telescopes may reveal an ellipsoidal shape with a bright center, but even larger scopes do not reveal much detail. "
The Hubble photo was selected on Monday, May 27 as a photo of the week in ESA's Hubble space.
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