NGC 7016 is one of two prominent radio galaxies in the galaxy cluster Abell 3744 along with the double galaxy system NGC 7018. These two galaxies form a pair in the central region of the cluster Abell 3744.[6]
NGC 7016 is a Famaroff-Riley type I radio galaxy,[6][7] with bent asymmetric jets. Lower-resolution radio data obtained from observations from the VLA, show a very long, bent extension of the jet on the left side of the galaxy which forms a tendril structure. On the counterjet side there is extreme looping, forming a feature referred to as the “swirl.” It is thought that this swirl which runs into an X-ray cavity produced by NGC 7018, is the result of the jet colliding with the radio plasma from NGC 7018 and as a result of an interaction with a wake of gas left by the motion of NGC 7018 and its companion galaxy through the cluster.[6]