Finally.
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After decades of searching,
astronomers have found what they’ve been looking for:
a galaxy cluster where large numbers of stars are being born at its core.
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Galaxy clusters are the largest structures in the cosmos that are held together by gravity,
consisting of hundreds or thousands of galaxies.
For decades,
astronomers have looked for galaxy clusters containing rich nurseries of stars.
Instead,
they found powerful,
giant black holes pumping out energy and keeping the gas too warm to form many stars.
Until now.
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Data from @NASAHubble and @nasachandraxray is revealing new details about how the most massive black holes in the universe affect their host galaxies.
Click the link in the bio for more info ⬆️⁣
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Image credit:
X-ray:
NASA/CXC/SAO/G.Schellenberger et al.;
Optical:SDSS⁣
⁣ #NASA #GalaxyCluster #BlackHoles

No matter the similarities and differences,
every galaxy is beautiful in its own way.
💜
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In this image from @NASAHubble,
we see a galaxy very similar to our own Milky Way.
NGC 772 is a spiral galaxy.
From a glowing center,
bright specks of star formation weave into dark ripples of cosmic dust.
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NGC 772 differs from our home galaxy in that it’s a “peculiar”
spiral galaxy —
meaning it is odd in size,
shape or composition.
However,
this doesn't change how stunningly beautiful it is.
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Image credit:
ESA/Hubble &
NASA,
A.
Seth et al.⁣
⁣ #Galaxy #NASA #BeautyIsEverywhere⁣

Our scientists launched rockets from the top of the world!
🌎🚀
In the tiny Arctic town of Ny-Ålesund,
where polar bears outnumber people,
winter means three months without sunlight.
The unending darkness is ideal for those who seek a strange breed of northern lights,
normally obscured by daylight.
When these unusual auroras shine,
Earth’s atmosphere leaks into space.

Our scientists traveled to Ny-Ålesund to launch rockets through these auroras and witness oxygen particles right in the middle of their escape.
Piercing these fleeting auroras,
some 300 miles high,
would require strategy,
patience —
and a fair bit of luck.
This was our VISIONS-2 mission,
and this is their story.

VISIONS-2 was just the first of many.
Over the coming months,
rocket teams from all over the world will launch rockets into this region as part of the Grand Challenge Initiative—Cusp,
an international collaboration to study the mysteries of the polar atmosphere.

Read more:
https://go.nasa.gov/VISIONS2blog #nasa #space #rocketscience #rocketlaunch #science