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In a FlashAn artist’s impression of Mrk 335, a supermassive black hole that produces X-ray flares. A recent study suggests that it flashes because of the collapse of its corona, a shroud of high-energy particles that surrounds black holes.
Illustration courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

Week's Best Space Pictures: Stars Kiss and Black Holes Flash

Alaska glitters in ice and early galaxies glow.

ByMichael Greshko
October 30, 2015

Feed your need for heavenly views of the universe with our pick of the most awe-inspiring space pictures. This week, a snake of plasma slithers across the Sun, NASA scientists prep for the cold, and the early universe’s chemistry gets a close-up.

National Geographic History Magazine

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