Chandra Release - August 26, 2026

Visual Description: Gallery of Galaxies


Today's release features a gallery of galaxies, presented in a four-by-four grid. 

 

Starting in the first row, at our upper left, is NGC 1672. At its center are two thick, spiraling, dark purple arms that bridge a brilliant white and neon pink core. Those bridging arms create a bar, which channels gas to the core, making NGC 1672 a barred spiral galaxy, like our own Milky Way. Longer, wispier arms also spiral out from the core, dotted with gleaming white and pink stars.

 

To the right of that image, second in the first row, is II Zw 096. In this system, two galaxies are merging at a furious rate. Near the top of the image is a spiral galaxy shape with thick arms in fiery oranges, whites, and reds. At the bottom of the image is a faint hazy bowl shape marbled with grainy white ribbons and hot pink specks. Where the two shapes collide, in the center of the frame, the galaxy appears utterly chaotic, like a firework photographed in the moment it explodes.

 

The third image in the first row features Messier 33, a spiral galaxy depicted in shades of pink and purple, shown almost face-on. The many arms of M33 are wispy and faint, dotted with scores of stars.

 

The final image in the first row features M106, a spiral galaxy in pinks and purples, shown at an angle, like a tipped dinner plate facing our upper left. From this vantage point, the spiraling arms look thick and frothy, resembling the top of a swirled strawberry milkshake. Clouds of royal blue appear to drift from the brilliant golden white core. These are superheated shock waves created by central black hole jets.

 

In the second row, the first image depicts NGC 1569. As a compact dwarf galaxy undergoing a violent burst of star formation, it resembles a tangle of glowing red yarn surrounding a white sparkler. 

 

The second image in the second row features M90, a spiral galaxy positioned near our upper left of the frame. The arms of M90 are orange and red near the golden core but fade to cloudy and grey at the outer edges. Though large (even by galaxy standards!), here, M90 appears small, sitting at the edge of a red gas cloud in the Virgo cluster of galaxies.

The third image in the second row depicts Centaurus A, a giant elliptical galaxy with a powerful jet bursting from its core. Here, a neon purple ellipse tips from our upper right down to our lower left. A hazy violet jet of particles shoots out of the white core, aimed at our upper left.

 

The final image in the second row is M104, nicknamed the Sombrero Galaxy. Like the hat it's named after, M104 has a wide, flat, round brim, shown here as a hazy violet ring viewed nearly on its edge. At the center of the brim-like ring is a cluster of golden specks surrounding a golden core.

 

The first image in the third row features Arp 143, a merging pair of galaxies undergoing an extreme gravitational transformation. On our left side of the frame is a ghostly galaxy with a pale white core and faint outer ring. On our right is a pale white sphere-shaped galaxy surrounded by a grainy neon blue cloud, flecked with pink dots. The cloud has a funnel-like shape, pointing toward its ghostly neighbor. Astronomers believe that one galaxy passed through the other, igniting the firestorm of star creation found inside the blue cloud.

 

The second image in the third row depicts NGC 4725. This spiral galaxy has a single blue arm which makes two perfect rotations around its small white core. Tilted toward our upper left, the rather cute galaxy is flecked with tiny specks of light in white, yellow, pink, and blue.

 

In the third image of the third row, NGC 1385 resembles a tangle of red and golden orange veins, highlighted with hints of purple, marbling a grainy grey cloud. Though no clear core is apparent in this depiction, the cloud appears to glow, deep within its center.

 

The fourth and final image in the third row features NGC 660, a rare polar ring galaxy. Here, a tilted, wobbly ring encircles a short line that tilts from our upper right down to our lower left. The dark, muted ring and line are flecked with neon pink and surrounded by a pale violet cloud.

 

The first image in the fourth row, at our lower lefthand corner, depicts M82, an irregular galaxy undergoing intense star formation. Here, thick towers of turbulent fuchsia gas burst from the top and bottom of a pale blue galactic disk.

 

The second image in the fourth row depicts NGC 3256, a pair of overlapping spiral galaxies merging into a single massive system. Here, the merged galaxy is shown face-on, its thick pink, white, and orange spiraling arms dotted with large pink specks, amid a hazy grey cloud.

 

In the third image in the fourth row, a spiral galaxy known as NGC 3938 directly faces us. Packed with clearly defined, glowing, pale blue arms that spiral around a central golden core, and flecked with multicolored specks, NGC 3938 appears flawless and elegant.

 

The final image in the lower right of the four-by-four grid features NGC 4631. This spiral galaxy in blues and purples is viewed from the side, making it appear like a thick, tightly packed, line of stars surrounded by a faint blue haze.

 

When viewed as a whole, this gallery of composite images illustrates the remarkable variety of distinct shapes, systems, and patterns found in the ever-changing galaxies across our universe.