This week’s space photos survey galaxies near and far—starting with the search for a missing arm. This pink, twinkling image is dwarf galaxy NGC 4625—and it should have at least two appendages, like most other spiral galaxies. Why? It turns out fellow nearby dwarf galaxy NGC 4618 must have interfered with the galaxy at one point, causing it to lose its outermost arm.
Next up, we’re going to stop and stare at the striking arm of our very own Milky Way galaxy, seen shooting out of the horizon of the Atacama desert in Chile. The bright bulge of light in the center is the core of the galaxy, where over half a million stars are burning, as well as a supermassive black hole. But don’t worry—our sun will have burned up long before we get sucked into oblivion.
Finally, we’re hopping to the galaxy next door, Andromeda. Astronomers were searching for a specific star in the Andromeda galaxy when they happened upon not one but two supermassive black holes. They estimate the mass of these two black holes to be 200 million times the mass of our sun.
Still want to hang out in deep space? Check out the full collection of cosmic photos here.
