Hubble Telescopes Spots a Galaxy That Swirls the Wrong Way

By Space.Fan Editorial DeskSeptember 18, 2026 at 1:38 PM UTC

A spiral galaxy in the Virgo Cluster is acting strangely by spinning its inner stars in a direction that goes against the rest of the galaxy.

Image · Space.Fan

The Drop

The NASA Hubble Space Telescope recently captured a clear view of a galaxy known as NGC 4698. This galaxy lives in the Virgo Cluster, a massive group of over a thousand galaxies located about 55 million s away from Earth. While it looks like a normal, peaceful spiral from a distance, it is hiding a major secret about how it moves. Scientists have discovered that the s at the center of this galaxy are spinning in the opposite direction from the s in the outer parts. Imagine a spinning top where the middle section suddenly decides to rotate the other way while the rest of the toy keeps spinning normally. That is the confusing behavior researchers are seeing inside NGC 4698. By using Hubble's powerful camera, astronomers were able to see the distinct structure of this galaxy, allowing them to map out the motion of the s and gas clouds. These observations show a clear break in the way the galaxy is put together, revealing that its core is completely out of sync with its outer arms.

Why It Matters

Most galaxies form in a very orderly way where everything rotates in one direction. Finding a galaxy like NGC 4698 is important because it challenges what scientists think they know about how galaxies grow and evolve. The strange behavior of these s likely suggests that the galaxy had a messy past. It may have swallowed another smaller galaxy a long time ago, or it might have captured gas from its surroundings that was moving in a different direction. Studying this helps researchers piece together the history of the Virgo Cluster and explains how galaxies change their shapes and behaviors over billions of years.

The Catch

While the evidence of the spinning motion is clear, the exact reason why the galaxy is moving this way is still just a theory. Scientists have not yet proven exactly what event caused the center to t spinning backward. It is possible that future research using different types of telescopes will find evidence of a past collision or other hidden forces that we cannot yet see in the current images.

Put That in Perspective

NGC 4698 is just one of many neighbors in the crowded Virgo Cluster. Because this cluster is so large and full of galaxies, it is a great place for scientists to see many different stages of galaxy life. Researchers will likely look for more examples of out-of-sync galaxies in this cluster to see if this is a common occurrence or a very rare mystery.

Source September 18, 2026

NASA