• #spaceporn

    This Galaxy Screams Across The Void

    The galaxy NGC 1275 has long commanded attention because it emits such strong radio waves and X-rays. And new images of the galaxy, at the heart of the Perseus cluster, paint a super-violent picture of events at its heart, thanks to the black hole at its exact center. This image combines optical imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope (red, green and blue) with X-ray data (soft violet) and radio waves (red). Click through to see X-ray and radio images separately. More »
    08/25/08
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  • #spaceporn

    The Tentacled Galaxy Where Cthulhu Was Spawned

    NGC 1275 is a galaxy that basks in the sizzling heat of X-rays emitted by its many sister galaxies in the Perseus galaxy cluster. Not only does NGC 1275 have a supermassive black hole at its center, like any self-respecting galaxy would, but it also exhibits a very rare trait. Those pale purple tendrils of light you see are actually cooled gas that's been ejected by the black hole at its core, and their tentacley shape is caused by the magnetic fields connecting NGC 1275 with other local galaxies. This is a recent image taken by the Hubble Telescope, and it tells us a lot about galactic behavior. More »
    08/20/08
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