NGC 5643: Nearby Spiral Galaxy from Hubble
What's happening at the center of spiral galaxy NGC 5643? A swirling disk of stars and gas, NGC 5643 's appearance is dominated by blue spiral arms and brown dust , as shown in the featured image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope . The core of this active galaxy glows brightly in radio waves and X-rays where twin jets have been found. An unusual central glow makes NGC 5643 one of the closest examples of the Seyfert class of galaxies , where vast amounts of glowing gas are thought to be falling into a central massive black hole . NGC 5643, is a relatively close 55 million light years away, spans about 100 thousand light years across, and can be seen with a small telescope towards the constellation of the Wolf ( Lupus ).