Galaxy ESO 243-49
September 23

Galaxy ESO 243-49

Observed in 2010

This edge-on galaxy, called ESO 243-49, appears to host a medium-sized black hole that might have come from a cannibalized dwarf galaxy. As massive as 20,000 Suns, the black hole lies above the galactic plane — an unusual location that suggests it originated somewhere else.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Space Telescope