Close-up: Galaxy NGC 1275 in The Perseus Cluster | Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Close-up: Galaxy NGC 1275 in The Perseus Cluster | Sloan Digital Sky Survey

This large mosaic from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey telescope plunges us into the heart of the gigantic Perseus cluster. Located at 250 million light-years from Earth, it is, in fact, a neighboring cluster of galaxies where its effervescence can be observed in detail.

The gas found between the galaxies reaches 60 million degrees Celsius and emits a wealth of x-ray light caught by NASA's Chandra space telescope (in blue). The giant elliptical galaxy NGC 1275 rests in the middle of the cluster, its spectacular filaments are imaged by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope.

This galaxy harbors an active supermassive black hole that powers strong jets of particles into the cluster. Equipped with new receivers, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array as allowed us to image the radio emission of these particles with an unprecedented level of detail (in pink), revealing a multitude of mysterious and complex structures.

Image Credits: Sloan Digital Sky Survey, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, CXC, Hubble Space Telescope, ESA, NRAO, Marie-Lou Gendron-Marsolais (Université de Montréal), Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo (Université de Montréal), Maxime Pivin Lapointe

Release Date: May 5, 2017

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