NGC 1316—Fornax A

NGC 1316, also known as Fornax A, is a giant elliptical galaxy 75 million light-years away in the Fornax Constellation (some estimates place it at 62 million light years from us), and sits on the edge of the Fornax Galaxy Cluster. Fornax A is one of the most prominent radio sources in the sky and is surrounded by two radio lobes tens of thousands of light years long.

Among other unusual features, Fornax A’s structure comprises multiple shells, or layers, likely caused by interaction with and absorption of other galaxies. There are also prominent dark dust lanes (visible if you zoom in) surrounding its core that may be the remains of spiral galaxies it has swallowed. Underneath those dust lanes at its center, Fornax A contains a supermassive black hole with a mass of 130 to 150 million suns.

On the left, you can see its companion galaxy, NGC 1317. Because its distance is uncertain, any gravitational interaction between it and Fornax A is uncertain. Hubble scientists recently discovered that NGC 1317 is actively forming stars. You can see some evidence of this if you zoom into the blue ring, comprising young stars, near its center.