Gallery: Space Photos of the Week: Galaxy Clusters and a Supermassive Black Hole Go BOOM

  • Image may contain Universe Space Astronomy Nebula Outer Space Flame Bonfire and Fire
    <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1701a/">ESA</a>
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    This image is part of the largest infrared high-resolution mosaic of Orion ever created. It captures the Orion a molecular cloud which is the nearest known massive star factory.
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    <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/hues-in-a-crater-slope">NASA/JPL/University of Arizona</a>
    02

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    Impact craters expose the subsurface materials on the steep slopes of Mars. These slopes often experience rockfalls and debris avalanches that keep the surface clean of dust, revealing a variety of hues, like in this enhanced-color image representing different rock types. The bright yellow at the top of the crater rim is from a coating of Martian dust.
  • Image may contain Universe Space Astronomy Outer Space and Nebula
    <a href="http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2017/a3411/">NASA</a>
    03

    SPoW-Jan6-01.jpg

    This photo captures not one but two enormous cosmic events—a supermassive black hole eruption and the collision of two enormous galaxy clusters. The result is a stupendous cosmic particle accelerator, flinging debris into space.
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    <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia21054/titans-mystery-clouds">NASA</a>
    04

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    Saturn’s moon Titan is a bit mysterious — sometimes you can see clouds (bottom image), and other times you can’t (top image). Astronomers think this might be because of the moon’s hazy atmosphere, which is much easier to spot through longer infrared wavelengths of more sensitive cameras like the one taken by Cassini’s Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer.
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    <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1701b/">ESO</a>
    05

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    This collection of highlights is taken from a new infrared image of the Orion A molecular cloud from the VISTA telescope. Many curious structures are clearly seen, including the red jets from very young stars, dark clouds of dust and even tiny images of very distant galaxies.
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    <a href="http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2017/cdfs/">NASA</a>
    06

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    The image features the highest concentration of black holes ever seen, equivalent to about 5,000 objects that would fit into the area of the full Moon and about a billion over the entire sky. It’s also the deepest X-ray image ever captured, made with over 7 million seconds of Chandra observing time.
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Jorge Garay
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Jenna Ahart
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Teruyuki Hayakawa
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Stephen Clark, Ars Technica
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