Sep 16, 2016 9:00 PM

Gallery: Space Photos of the Week: A Galaxy With a Big, Dark Secret

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/hubble-finds-a-lenticular-galaxy-standing-out-in-the-crowd">ESA</a>
01
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A lenticular galaxy, like the bright light shining in this photo captured by NASA’s Hubble telescope, is more unusual than elliptical and spiral galaxies. Studies suggest this one contains a huge black hole.
<a href="http://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Gaia/Gaia_s_billion-star_map_hints_at_treasures_to_come">ESA</a>
02
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This sky map of galaxies and globular clusters, documented by ESA’s Gaia satellite, is part of the largest survey of celestial objects yet.

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/some-ancient-mars-lakes-came-long-after-others">NASA/JPL-Caltech</a>
03
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These lakes and streams on Mars’ surface appeared roughly a billion years after an earlier era of wet conditions on the planet, suggesting that there have been multiple periods of weather conditions suitable for microbial life on Mars.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/hubble-takes-close-up-look-at-disintegrating-comet">NASA, ESA</a>
04
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In this photo, Hubble captured a comet in the act of breaking apart, approximately 67 million miles from Earth. The blocks, made of ice and dust, are each about the size of a building; they’re drifting away from the comet at the walking speed of an adult, scattering along a 3,000-mile trail.

<a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21046r">NASA/JPL-Caltech</a>
05
SPoW-Sept15-07.jpg
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this image of Saturn’s northern hemisphere. Saturn, where one year lasts for 30 Earth years, will approach its summer solstice in May 2017.
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/fighting-cancer-with-space-research">Caltech</a>
06
SPoW-Sept15-04.jpg
Some galaxies, including NGC 3718 and NGC 3729, pictured above, are algorithmically analyzed by machines able to recognize astrophysical similarities. The technique is now also used on images of cancer.

<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1631/">ESO</a>
07
SPoW-Sept15-01.jpg
This black hole has had a tough time in the past five years; not enough glowing fuel has fallen into it, so it doesn’t shine as brightly as it could.

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Astronomers Confirm Discovery of the Youngest Known Exoplanet Ever

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Teruyuki Hayakawa

How to See the Orionid Meteor Shower and Other Upcoming Astronomical Events

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Japan Is Attempting an Audacious Mission to Sample a Martian Moon

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Jenna Ahart

NASA Just Made Nearly 1 TB of Artemis II Data Available to the Public

The data drop includes photographs, audio, video, and astronauts’ notes that will be used to study the moon and prepare for future human missions.

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The ‘Exotic Physics’ Behind a Mysterious 1,000-Mile Cloud on Mars

The cloud has baffled astronomers since its discovery in 2018. Now, a new study offers a possible cause for its appearance.

Tereza Ondráčková

NASA’s Oldest Martian Spacecraft Have Been Running for Decades. Here’s How

Two orbiters have long outlasted their expected lifespans and completely reshaped our understanding of the Red Planet, all while operating 140 million miles from Earth.

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Scientists Trapped an Antimatter Particle for Months to Study Its Secrets

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Jorge Garay