G. Matt

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.

The neutron star 4U 1735-44 is gobbling up matter from a companion star. The matter spirals into a flat disk, like water going down a bathtub drain. But this disk shines in X-rays, and astronomers have for the first time measured how "combed" those rays are: that is, how polarized.