#Galaxy 1068 is shown in #visible light and X-rays in this #composite image. High-energy X-rays (magenta) captured by NASA’s #Nuclear #Spectroscopic #Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, are overlaid on visible-#light images from both NASA’s Hubble #Space Telescope and the Sloan #Digital #Sky Survey. The X-ray light is coming from an #active supermassive black hole, also known as a #quasar, in the #center of the galaxy. This supermassive black hole has been extensively studied due to its relatively #close proximity to our #galaxy. NGC 1068 is about 47 million light-years away in the #constellation Cetus.
The #supermassive black hole is also one of the #most obscured known, blanketed by thick #clouds of gas and dust. NuSTAR’s #high-#energy #X-ray #view is the first to penetrate the #walls of this #blackhole’s hidden #lair.
Image Credit: #NASA/JPL,#stephenhawking1982 by stephenhawking1982