Two images show the Perseus cluster of galaxies. The image on the left shows a close up image of active galaxy NGC 1275, the central, dominant member of the Perseus cluster (credit: Data – Hubble Legacy Archive, ESA, NASA; Processing – Al Kelly). The image on the right shows the cluster using an X-ray telescope revealing the atmosphere of plasma enveloping the whole galaxy cluster.
Data from a now-defunct X-ray satellite is providing new insights into the complex tug-of-war between galaxies, the hot plasma that surrounds them, and the giant black holes that lurk in their centres. Launched from Japan on February 17, 2016, the Japanese space agency (JAXA) Hitomi X-ray Observatory functioned for just over a month before contact was lost and the craft disintegrated...
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