A Hubble Space Telescope image of spiral galaxy NGC 4698, released on Sept. 18, 2026, shows a seemingly calm galaxy with an unusual structure, according to NASA. Like the Milky Way, NGC 4698 has spiral arms curling within a thin disk of stars, gas and dust. The arms are marked by opaque clumps of brown dust and dotted with small groups of bright blue stars.

Unlike many spiral galaxies, whose arms often wind down to the very center, NGC 4698's arms are prominent only in the outer reaches of its disk. They appear to shy away from the glowing center, hovering instead in a ring-like structure around the galaxy's perimeter. The image was credited to ESA/Hubble and NASA, D. Thilker and the MAUVE-HST Team.