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Window on Infinity: Star Trails Over Yosemite and a Supermassive Black Hole

This photo shows the moon over northeast Greenland, where a team of scientists returned to the Arctic with NASA’s P-3 aircraft to continue Operation IceBridge, a multi-year aerial survey of polar ice In March 2014.
This photo shows the moon over northeast Greenland, where a team of scientists returned to the Arctic with NASA’s P-3 aircraft to continue Operation IceBridge, a multi-year aerial survey of polar ice In March 2014.Michael Studinger—NASA Earth Observatory
Star trails are visible over the granite face of El Capitan in Earth's Yosemite National Park in this image taken on November 8, 2013 and in March 2014.
Star trails are visible over the granite face of El Capitan in Earth's Yosemite National Park in this image taken on November 8, 2013 and in March 2014. El Capitan hides the north celestial pole, which is at the center of all the star trails.Michael Bolte—NASA/Zuma Press
The Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft is set on its launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome on March 23, 2014.
The Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft is set on its launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome on March 23, 2014.Maxim Shemetov—Reuters
Chandra Spots Runaway Galaxy (NASA, Chandra, 03/04/14)The spiral galaxy ESO 137-001 looks like a dandelion caught in a breeze in this new composite image from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The galaxy is zooming toward the upper left of this image, in between other galaxies in the Norma cluster located over 200 million light-years away. The road is harsh: intergalactic gas in the Norma cluster is sparse, but so hot at 180 million degrees Fahrenheit that it glows in X-rays detected by Chandra (blue). The spiral plows through the seething intra-cluster gas so rapidly - at nearly 4.5 million miles per hour - much of its own gas is caught and torn away. Astronomers call this "ram pressure stripping." The galaxy's stars remain intact due to the binding force of their gravity. Tattered threads of gas, the blue jellyfish-tendrils sported by ESO 137-001 in the image, illustrate the process. Ram pressure has strung this gas away from its home in the spiral galaxy and out over intergalactic space. Once there, these strips of gas have erupted with young, massive stars, which are pumping out light in vivid blues and ultraviolet. The brown, smoky region near the center of the spiral is being pushed in a similar manner, although in this case it is small dust particles, and not gas, that are being dragged backwards by the intra-cluster medium. From a star-forming perspective, ESO 137-001 really is spreading its seeds into space like a dandelion in the wind. The stripped gas is now forming stars. However, the galaxy, drained of its own star-forming fuel, will have trouble making stars in the future. Through studying this runaway spiral, and other galaxies like it, astronomers hope to gain a better understanding of how galaxies form stars and evolve over time. The image is also decorated with hundreds of stars from within the Milky Way. Though not connected in the slightest to ESO 137-001, these stars and the two reddish elliptical galaxies contribute to a vibrant celestial vista. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass., controls Chandra's science and flight operations. Full caption/images: chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2014/eso137/ Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UAH/M.Sun et al; Optical: NASA, ESA, & the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Spiral galaxy ESO 137-00 zooms toward the upper left of this image released on March 4, 2014, in between other galaxies in the Norma cluster located over 200 million light-years away. Intergalactic gas in the Norma cluster is sparse, but so hot at 180 million degrees Fahrenheit that it glows in X-rays detected by Chandra (blue).X-ray: NASA/CXC/UAH/M.Sun et al; Optical: NASA/ESA/The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Multiple images of a distant quasar are visible in this combined view from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope.
Multiple images of a distant quasar are visible in this combined view from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope. For the first time scientists have measured the spin of a distant supermassive black hole and found that its rate of rotation is about 3.5 trillion mph - roughly half the speed of light.NASA/Reuters
A visualization of the glow over North America represents fluorescence measured from land plants in early July, over a period from 2007 to 2011 in this image released on March 31, 2014.
A glow over North America represents fluorescence measured from land plants in early July, from 2007 to 2011, in this image released on March 31, 2014. Data from satellite sensors show that during the northern hemisphere's growing season the midwest region of the U.S. boasts more photosynthetic activity than any other spot on Earth.NASA/Reuters
This radar composite image, released in March 2014, shows changes in large-scale agricultural plots in southwest Iran.
This radar composite image, released in March 2014, shows changes in large-scale agricultural plots in southwest Iran. Combined, the different colors show changes in the fields – such as harvesting at different points on time during 2010.JAXA/ESA
This close-up of cosmic clouds and stellar winds features LL Orionis, interacting with the Orion Nebula flow.
This close-up of cosmic clouds and stellar winds features LL Orionis, interacting with the Orion Nebula flow. Adrift in Orion's stellar nursery and still in its formative years, variable star LL Orionis produces a wind more energetic than the wind from our own middle-aged Sun. NASA/Sipa USA
This color-coded topography map of Daedalia Planum, released on March 5, 2014, shows a segment of highland terrain that is home to Mistretta Crater, the largest of the three eroded impact craters on Mars.
This color-coded topography map of Daedalia Planum, released on March 5, 2014, shows a segment of highland terrain that is home to Mistretta Crater, the largest of the three eroded impact craters on Mars. White and red show the highest terrains, while blue and purple show the deepest. ESA/DLR/FU Berlin
This image obtained March 11, 2014 shows a new color mosaic created from MESSENGER acquired during the space craft's second year in orbit about Mercury.
This image obtained March 11, 2014 shows a new color mosaic created from MESSENGER acquired during the space craft's second year in orbit about Mercury.NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/AFP/Getty Images
A beautiful new image of part of NGC 2174, also known as the Monkey Head Nebula, released by NASA on March 17, 2014 to celebrate Hubble's 24th year in orbit.
A beautiful new image of part of NGC 2174, also known as the Monkey Head Nebula, released by NASA on March 17, 2014 to celebrate Hubble's 24th year in orbit. NGC 2174 lies about 6400 light-years away in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter).NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team/EPA
In this image released on March 5, 2014, the winter frosts are about to disappear on the North Pole of Mars, revealing the surface features of the ice.
In this image released on March 5, 2014, the winter frosts are about to disappear on the North Pole of Mars, revealing the surface features of the ice. The ice cap is one of the smoothest, flattest places on Mars. This landscape continues for hundreds of kilometers in every direction with this same repeating pattern.NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizon
A sand dune field in a Southern highlands crater obtained March 13, 2014
A sand dune field in a Southern highlands crater obtained March 13, 2014. The especially bright patches - bluish in enhanced color - are due to seasonal frost that is accumulating as this hemisphere approaches winter.NASA/JPL-CalTech/Univ. of Arizona/AFP/Getty Images
This image released on March 5, 2014 shows ridges east of Holden Crater on Mars, with hair-line fractures along the axis of each ridge.
This image released on March 5, 2014 shows ridges east of Holden Crater on Mars, with hair-line fractures along the axis of each ridge. Scientists are not sure how they formed, but possible explanations suggest that mineral-rich ground water flowed out of the fractures and deposited minerals at or near the surface as the water evaporated.NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizon
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's rear hazard avoidance camera captures its own shadow on March 20, 2014.
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's rear hazard avoidance camera captures its own shadow on March 20, 2014. The rover's shadow falls across a slope called the McClure-Beverlin Escarpment on the western rim of Endeavour Crater, where Opportunity is investigating rock layers for evidence about ancient environments on Mars. NASA/JPL-CalTech/Reuters
Saturn, which appears as a thin crescent, broken only by the shadows of its rings, was captured by the Cassini spacecraft cameras in this image released on March 17, 2014.
Saturn, which appears as a thin crescent, broken only by the shadows of its rings, was captured by the Cassini spacecraft cameras in this image released on March 17, 2014. This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 42 degrees below the ringplane.NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
NASA released the largest high resolution mosaic of our moon's north polar region on March 19, 2014.
NASA released the largest high resolution mosaic of our moon's north polar region on March 19, 2014. Scientists created the mosaic using cameras aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Click here to explore the image in NASA's first interactive of the lunar north pole.NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University /AFP/Getty Images
This image released on March 7, 2014 and taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Iberian Peninsula including Spain and Portugal at night.
This image released on March 7, 2014 and taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows the Iberian Peninsula including Spain and Portugal at night. The lights from human settlements reveal where the major towns and activity are. The large mass of light in the middle is Madrid, Spain.ESA/NASA/EPA

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