This image of NGC 4194 is a composite of X-rays from Chandra (blue) and optical light data from Hubble (orange). Located above the center of the galaxy, the "hair" of the Medusa is a tidal tail formed by a collision between galaxies. The bright X-ray source found on the left side of Medusa's hair is a black hole. A recent study of the Medusa galaxy and nine other galaxies measured the correlation between the formation of stars and the production of X-ray binaries. These X-ray binaries appear as the bright blue point-like sources in this image of Medusa.
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Revised: March 09, 2009