[petuniasevan]

Astronomy Fun Fact:

Cygnus A is a spectacular sight, but it would be a very-difficult-to-impossible place for life to exist. That central black hole is churning up the whole galaxy! The optical wavelengths we think of as light are only a small part of the total. For instance, Cygnus A has been imaged in visible light. It's unremarkable at these wavelengths; if all we knew was the light we can see, we'd miss out on such things as today's APOD. See below for the Palomar Observatory's visible-light image.

Yes, that ugly 2-lobed object in the center of the photo is Cygnus A. What a mess, huh?

[petuniasevan]

[BossyRoofer]

It's amazeing how powerful these blackholes are! Great picture, Good job APOD!

[Lil Boop]

Wow. Those are amazing pictures.

[Mike Darancette]

That must be a really nasty neighborhood to live in.