B. R. McNamara

At the heart of the Ophiuchus galaxy cluster floats a bubble of hot plasma the size of several galaxies. It rises like a giant hot-air balloon in the atmosphere, leaving a wake behind it — a region where gas is set in motion.

The XRISM X-ray telescope spent 170,000 seconds staring at the core of galaxy Cygnus A — one of the most powerful radio sources in the sky. At its center lurks a supermassive black hole that sucks in matter and heats it until it glows in X-rays. The instrument caught light from iron atoms that had lost electrons.

At the heart of the giant galaxy Hydra-A, there's a hive of activity. A supermassive black hole shoots out two powerful plasma jets. They punch through the surrounding cloud of hot gas and inflate giant bubbles within it.