C. Vignali

Two galaxies collided, and from their center an invisible fountain erupts. The ALMA and VLT telescopes peered into the heart of the IRAS20100-4156 system — where two stellar islands are merging. There, work is in full swing: hundreds of new suns are being born, and their heat drives a stream of cold gas outward. This stream is like a giant's exhale.

At the center of galaxy NGC 1068, located 47 million light-years away, lies a black hole hidden behind a dense veil of dust. But X-rays emitted by iron pierce through that veil. The Japanese satellite XRISM captured this glow and split it into colors, much as a prism splits sunlight.

Nearly 12 billion years ago, when the Universe was experiencing the turbulent 'cosmic noon'—the era of record-breaking star formation — at the heart of one galaxy, the quasar WISSH13 was flaring up.