NGC 7049 is a borderline galaxy, exhibiting properties of both elliptical and spiral galaxies. As such, it is often classified as a lenticular galaxy, an intermediate class between the two standard shapes. NGC 7049, roughly 145 million light-years away, is found in the southern constellation known as Indus. A halo of stars illuminates its swirling dust ring in this image from the Hubble Space Telescope; globular clusters of stars are visible as bright points within the halo.