The Magnificent Aquila Spiral, NGC 6814

The striking face-on spiral galaxy NGC 6814 is located in the constellation Aquila. Its luminous nucleus and spectacular sweeping arms, rippled with an intricate pattern of dark dust, are captured in this image. NGC 6814 has an extremely bright nucleus, a telltale sign that it is a Seyfert galaxy. These galaxies have very active centers that can emit strong bursts of radiation. The luminous heart of NGC 6814 is a highly variable source of X-ray radiation, causing scientists to suspect that it hosts a supermassive black hole with a mass about 18 million times that of the Sun. As NGC 6814 is a very active galaxy, many regions of ionized gas are studded along its spiral arms. In these large clouds of gas, a burst of star formation has recently taken place, forging the brilliant blue stars that are visible scattered throughout the galaxy.