The MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile has taken a picture of NGC 1964, an incredibly beautiful spiral galaxy in the constellation of Lepus.
NGC 1964. Image credit: Jean-Christophe Lambry / ESO.
Discovered on November 20, 1784 by the British astronomer William Herschel, NGC 1964 is a barred spiral galaxy situated about 74 million light-years from Earth.
Also known as LEDA 17436, ESO 554-10 and IRAS 05312-2158, this galaxy is the main member of the NGC 1964 group of galaxies.
NGC 1964 is approximately 100,000 light-years across and has a bright and dense core.
At its center lies a supermassive black hole, with an estimated mass of roughly 25 million solar masses.
NGC 1964’s core sits within a mottled oval disc, which is itself encircled by distinct spiral arms speckled with bright starry regions.
NGC 1964 lives in a star-sprinkled section of the sky.
In this view from the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope, a bright star called HD 36785 can be seen to the galaxy’s immediate right.
Above it reside two other prominent stars, HD 36784 and TYC 5928-368-1, and the large bright star below NGC 1964 is known as BD-22 1147.
This view of NGC 1964 also contains an array of galaxies, visible in the background.
