A new look at the galaxy-shaping power of black holes

Data from a now-defunct satellite is providing new insights into the complex tug-of-war between galaxies, the hot plasma that surrounds them, and the giant black holes that lurk in their centers. The Japanese space agency Hitomi X-ray Observatory functioned for just over a month before contact was lost and the craft disintegrated. But data obtained during those few weeks was enough to paint a startling new picture of the dynamic forces at work within galaxies.