The active galaxy Markarian 1018

The mystery of a rare change in the behaviour of the supermassive black hole at the centre of the distant galaxy Markarian 1018 has been solved by an international team of astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope along with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

The image was taken with the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The faint loops of light around the galaxy are a result of its interaction and merger with another galaxy in the recent past.