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X-ray and Infrared Images of the Infinity GalaxyCredit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Yale Univ./P. van Dokkum et al.; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/JWST; Image Processing:NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk; NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/A. Pagan
These images of the so-called Infinity Galaxy shows X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory along with infrared data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. The Webb data shows two rings of stars and gas seen in the Infinity Galaxy, which astronomers think were likely formed from the collision of two galaxies. The centers of these two galaxies are the white-orange sources in the middle of the two rings, in the lower left and upper right of the galaxy. X-ray data from Chandra — and radio data from the NSF’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), not shown — have uncovered a growing supermassive black hole in this galaxy. Such black holes are usually found in the centers of massive galaxies, but the Chandra and VLA data may show that this is not the case for the Infinity Galaxy.
Return to: Chandra Joins In Discovery of Infinity Galaxy and Possible Newborn Black Hole (July 15, 2025)