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Stare Into This Wild ‘Cosmic Eye’ That NASA’s Hubble Telescope Just Snapped

NASA’s Hubble telescope just snapped a stunning image of a galaxy that looks like “cosmic eye.” The photo is of Galaxy NGC 5728. NGC 5728 is a Seyfert galaxy, which is a type of galaxy that’s superpowered by extremely active cores. This gives them a way brighter appearance in its center than the outside.

NGC 5728 may be 130 million light-years away, but the photo makes it looks like its right next door. While it looks like a spiral galaxy like our own it’s also what NASA describes it as a “monumentally energetic” Seyfert galaxy.

Seyferts are in a group of galaxies that have AGNs (active galactic nuclei). What makes Seyfert galaxies so notable is that they’re actually very visible. Quasars are also AGNs, but they’re so bright and radioactive that it’s impossible to make up the galaxies around them.

NASA also notes that the AGN at the core of NGC 5728 could also be emitting infrared light, but that it’s probably blocked by galactic dust.

Here’s the photo, with the AGN looking very much like a cosmic pupil.

https://twitter.com/universal_sci/status/1444267770590474251?s=20

Seyfert galaxies are named after the man who discovered them, Carl K. Seyfert. He first made note of these Galaxies all the way back in 1944.

There are two established types of Seyfert Galaxies. Type ones have broad emission lines and type twos have strong emission lines, giving them distinctly different appearances.

And even though the Hubble is magnificent and has done its job beautifully, new tech is coming in soon. The James Webb Telescope is launching later this year. Space geeks around the world can rejoice because it finally launches from French Guiana on December 18th after some delays.

Oh, and if the photo wasn’t enough, here’s NASA’s video of NGC 5728.

‘NASA’ Is on a Quest for Alien Life

If you ask a scientist if they believe in aliens, many might actually say yes. Of course, they may not believe in the little green men flying in saucers and abducting people with light rays, but the possibility for life, even within our own solar system, is very real.

Planets like Mars and Venus as well as lunar Bodies like Europa, a moon of Jupiter, are at the center of interest for potential life. This life, of course, would likely be bacteria, but it would be an unbelievably exciting discovery nonetheless. Many scientists have their sights focused on Mars.

The perseverance rover recently grabbed its first rock sample from Mars, and scientists are hoping to uncover more useful clues about the potential for life on our neighboring planet. As science continues to advance, it feels like we’re mere years away from finding something major.

On top of that, if you think the photos we’ve gotten from the Hubble are magnificent, the James Webb telescope should provide some absolute jaw-droppers once it launches in December. If you’re a space enthusiast, this is truly an awesome year.