An inordinately active galaxy, it is only 15 million light years away, so it is laughable that a galaxy at this distance took so long to be discovered in 1975. The reason it was discovered in recent times is because it is heavily obscured by intergalactic dust.
It is a Seyfert galaxy and has an active galactic nucleus. This nucleus is encircled by a small ring and a large ring of gas and dust. At the heart of the nucleus lies the dark maelstrom of a supermassive black hole that is spewing out gas far into the surrounding space. |