NGC 4156 with supernova SN2025bvm, NGC 4151 and NGC 4145: a superb view
We captured an outstanding corner of the deep sky, showing a few galaxies of speechless beauty: NGC 4156 with its supernova SN 2025bvm, NGC 4151 and NGC 4145.
NGC 4156 (with SN 2025bvm, NGC 4151 and NGC 4145.
The image above comes from the average of 24, 300-second exposures, remotely taken with the ARTEC250+Paramount ME+C3Pro61000EC robotic unit available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project facility in Manciano, Italy, under the darkest skies of the Italian peninsula.
The small galaxy NGC 4156, just a little down and to the right from the center of the picture, is a barred spiral galaxy located approximately 300 million light-years away from Earth. It harbors an active galactic nucleus (AGN), powered by a supermassive black hole at its center. The structure of NGC 4156 displays the classic features of a barred spiral, with a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars and interstellar material, from which the spiral arms extend. At the time of the image, the galaxy was hosting the type Ia supernova SN 2025bvm.
A little up and to right from it, the spectacular spiral galaxy NGC 4151 is prominently visible. Situated at a much closer distance of about 50 million light-years, NGC 4151 is one of the most well-studied AGN-hosting galaxies. It shows an outstanding and complex structure, with faint, extended spiral arms wrapping around a bright ring-like inner region. Due to its striking appearance, it is sometimes nicknamed the “Eye of Sauron,” evoking the iconic image from The Lord of the Rings.
Just to the left of NGC 4156, the smaller galaxy SDSS J121049.13+393027.2 can be seen. It is also located around 300 million light-years away. A faint “tail” extends northward from this galaxy, likely the result of tidal interactions — gravitational effects from nearby galaxies that distort and pull material out from their disks between NGC 4151 and NGC 4145, visible just on the left from the center, above a bright star. Located relatively close in cosmic terms at a distance of about 50 million light-years. NGC 4145 is a flocculent spiral galaxy, meaning its spiral arms are patchy and fragmented rather than grand and well-defined. Its loose, chaotic structure is marked by scattered regions of star formation, giving it a delicate, woolly appearance. NGC 4145 is an example of a galaxy in a quieter evolutionary phase, without the strong AGN activity seen in its neighbors like NGC 4151.
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