Galaxy Gallery: Galactic Gems Glisten in New Gallery From NASA’s Chandra

This gallery displays a collection of 16 galactic images from Chandra and other telescopes. Astronomers put galaxies into three main categories: spirals like our own Milky Way, ellipticals that are older and likely the results of mergers, and irregulars that can encompass a wide range of galactic phenomena. All types are represented in this collection. Each galactic image contains X-ray data from Chandra combined with data from telescopes such as NASA’s Webb, Hubble, IXPE, Swift, and NuSTAR, and others both in space and on the ground.

This gallery displays a collection of 16 galactic images from Chandra and other telescopes. Astronomers put galaxies into three main…

A barred spiral galaxy featuring a prominent central bar or bridge of stars that channels gas toward its core. Chandra…

A chaotic, dust-shrouded system of merging galaxies forming stars at a furious rate. Chandra X-ray data (magenta) pinpoint powerful black…

A nearby, face-on spiral galaxy whose clear spiral arms offer an unhindered view of its stellar engine. X-ray data from…

A spiral galaxy famous for having two extra, “anomalous” spiral arms composed of hot gas. Chandra’s X-rays (royal blue) show…

A compact dwarf irregular galaxy undergoing a violent, compact burst of star formation. Chandra and XMM-Newton observations (blue and purple)…

A large spiral galaxy that is being stripped of its gas as it plunges at high speed through hot gas…

A giant elliptical galaxy undergoing a dusty merger, featuring a powerful jet of particles blasting tens of thousands of light-years…

Famous for its broad central bulge and dark outer dust ring, this galaxy sits at a nearly edge-on tilt to…

This ring galaxy system formed when a smaller companion galaxy punched straight through its center like a bullseye, creating a…

A “one-armed” barred spiral galaxy surrounded by a prominent star-forming ring. Chandra’s X-ray data (magenta) pinpoints several bright X-ray sources,…

A barred spiral galaxy packed with regions where stars are actively forming. Chandra X-ray data (magenta) highlights stellar nurseries and…