Skip Navigation
menu close modal
Resources

Galactic Graveyard – "Galaxy of Horrors" poster (English)

A scarlet star looms behind the ruins of an exoplanet that resembles the shape of a skull. A red galaxy arm is visible in the background. It is apparent that this galaxy, named MACS 2129-1, has been decaying since it stopped producing stars only a few billion years after the big bang.
Credit: NASA-JPL/Caltech
Published: September 28, 2021

This chillingly haunted galaxy mysteriously stopped making stars only a few billion years after the big bang! It became a cosmic cemetery, illuminated by the red glow of decaying stars. Dare to enter, and you might encounter the frightening corpses of exoplanets or the final death throes of once-mighty stars.

You can download this poster in multiple sizes and formats at NASA’s exoplanets website here and learn more about the Galaxy of Horrors poster series here.

ENLARGE

Explore the Universe

Related

This far-off blue planet may look like a friendly haven – but don’t be deceived! Weather here is deadly.
More
A poster done in the style of a vintage poster for a horror movie. Reading "Rains of Terror," it's death by a million cuts on this slasher planet. Jagged edges of glass can be seen battering a spacecraft on this alien world.
Rains of Terror – "Galaxy of Horrors" poster (English)
NASA's (PIPER) studies patterns of light in the universe’s baby picture, as shown in this infographic.
More
This infographic shows many factoids about the PIPER (Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer) balloon mission. At the top, there is part of an image of the cosmic microwave background with the text, “The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is heat left over from the big bang and is the oldest light we can see in the universe.” Just below that, near a circular, bright “explosion” is the text, “Scientists are studying the CMB for proof that the universe expanded rapidly immediately after the big bang.” Next is an image of two circles of yellow lines that look like 8-pointed pinwheels that would swirls in opposite directions with text, “This process, called inflation, should have created gravitational waves. If so, light from the CMB should contain a distinct twisting polarization pattern called B-mode.” There is a cut-out line drawing of the PIPER payload with the silhouette of a person standing next to it, showing that it is about two persons’ high. The text says, “PIPER is a microwave telescope flown on a high-altitude balloon. The instrument has twin telescopes in a hot-tub-sized container of liquid helium.” Next there is text with icicles below it that reads, “Liquid helium keeps the instrument at -452 degrees Fahrenheit (-269 Celsius).” Near a map of the United States with a telescope by Maryland and a lightbulb near California is the text, “The detectors on PIPER could spot a 60-watt incandescent light bulb in California from PIPER's base of operations at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.” A silhouette of a hippopotamus accompanies the text, “PIPER's total weight, including instrument, balloon and ballast, is about 8,000 pounds (3,600 kilograms), as much as a full-grown male hippopotamus.” An illustration of the fully inflated balloon appears with the text, “Width of fully inflated balloon: 430 feet (130 meters).” Underneath the balloon are three houses. The text nearby explains, “The balloon expands to approximately 40 million cubic feet (1.1 million cubic meters) when it reaches maximum altitude. It's made from polyethylene film comparable in thickness to ordinary plastic sandwich wrap.” A drawing of Australia, Texas and New Mexico is accompanied by the text, “Flights are planned from Ft. Sumner, New Mexico, Palestine, Texas and Alice Springs, Australia. Overnight flights from these three locations will allow PIPER to cover 85 percent of the sky.” And finally, a commercial airplane near the bottom has text, “PIPER's maximum altitude is about 120,000 feet (36,000 meters). That's more than three times the cruising altitude of a commercial airplane.”
PIPER Infographic
A real monster black hole is revealed in this image from NASA's NuSTAR and Hubble.
More
Three panels show the same region of sky in different wavelengths of light. On the left is a high-energy X-ray image, which has a bright white spot at the center with a halo of reds and yellows. The halo is brightest on the left side of the white central spot. On the right is the optical light image, which shows two cloudy ovals in shards of white, pale blue and red coming together. Where they meet the image is very bright. Also in the image are a few background spots of light on the black background. In the central image, the X-ray and optical images are shown together, so we see the bright spot where the galaxies come together surrounded by the red X-ray haze.
Tale of Two Black Holes
This is a mosaic the entire sky as observed by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).
More
The image is an oval, which represents the sky folded out onto a flat surface. There is an electric blue, fuzzy light running left to right in the center of the image, showing emission from the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. About half way between the center of the image and the left edge, that blue line turns green and expands out into diffuse clouds. That blue line similarly expands into diffuse green clouds on the right side, too. Most of the rest of the image appears black with just a few spots of dim green clouds dotted around the image.
The WISE Infrared Sky
¡Esta fuerza escalofriante te dejará temblando de terror!
More
Un agujero negro con un disco de material a su alrededor consume y estira las palabras del título encima de él.
Devorado por la Gravedad – "Galaxy of Horrors" póster (En Español)
The history of the universe is outlined in this illustration. 
More
This infographic is done in shades of blue and white. At the top left is the title: “History of the Universe.” Below that is a cone with graphics representing different stages of cosmic history within eight evenly spaced ovals. Below the cone is text connected to each oval indicating time since the beginning of the universe, the name of the cosmic era, and a brief description. The first oval on the left is filled with blobs, and the associated text reads: 10 to the negative 32 seconds, Inflation, and Initial expansion. Moving right, the next oval is filled with light (represented as squiggles), protons, and neutrons. The text below reads: one microsecond; first particles; and neutrons, protons, and electrons form. The next oval is filled with light (squiggles) and atomic nuclei. The text below reads: three minutes; first nuclei; and helium and hydrogen form. The next oval is filled with light (squiggles) and atoms. The text below reads: 380,000 years; first light; and the first atoms form. The next oval is filled with transparent areas of blue representing gas with a few dots representing stars. The text below reads: 200 million years; first stars; and gas and dust condense into stars. The next oval is filled with tightly packed galaxies with some transparent areas representing gas. The text below reads: 400 million years; galaxies and dark matter; and galaxies form in dark matter cradles. The next oval is filled with galaxies that have moved apart with stars in between. The text below reads: 10 billion years; dark energy; and expansion accelerates. The last oval is filled with galaxies that have moved far apart with stars in between. The text below reads: 13.8 billion years; today; and humans observe the universe.
History of the Universe
NASA's Chandra captured this image of a beautiful X-ray nebula.
More
A supernova remnant rises like an ethereal blue hand across the center of the image. This blue hand-shaped nebula intersects a spotty red oval with dots of light. These both represent X-ray views of the nebula, with the highest energy X-rays shown in blue, and the lower energy in red.
Pulsar PSR B1509-58 Shows its Hand
This mosaic of NASA's Swift is created from images of astronomical objects captured by the satellite.
More
When taking this image as a whole, it looks like the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a telescope with a central cylindrical body and solar panels on either side. Upon closer inspection, though, the image is made from small individual images of different astronomical objects that were taken by the telescope.
Swift Millionth Image Mosaic
Explore this infographic to learn more about SuperTIGER, cosmic rays, and scientific ballooning.
More
This infographic shows many factoids about the SuperTIGER balloon mission. The poster has the header: “SuperTIGER Catching heavy cosmic rays.” There is a cut-out line drawing of the SuperTIGER payload as if it was dangling from a balloon. Near this is the text, “SuperTIGER is a souped-up version of the Trans-Iron Galactice Element Recorder (TIGER) detector that flew in 1997, 2001, and 2003.” next to that are a series of representations of cosmic rays from an electron (1% of cosmic rays), hydrogen (90%), helium (8%), and heavier nuclei (1%). Next to that is a periodic table of the elements with the elements from neon (atomic #10) to barium (atomic #56) highlighted. This is accompanied by the text, “Cosmic rays are particles from far outside the solar system traveling at up to nearly the speed of light. SuperTIGER seeks heavy atomic nuclei ranging from neon to barium.” Just below the cosmic ray particles and periodic table is a silhouette of a van accompanying the text, “SuperTIGER and its supporting hardware weighs 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms), comparable to a full-size van.” A drawing of Antarctica with arrows encircling the continent in a counterclockwise direction is accompanied by the text, “SuperTIGER launches from McMurdo Station, Antarctica, and can float for weeks. Circular winds aloft confine it to the continent.” Just below these items there is a depiction of the balloon at launch, taking up about two-thirds the height of the poster. The line drawing of the balloon at launch includes the inflated portion of the balloon, which is just a small upside down tear-drop at the top, the recovery parachute, and the SuperTIGER payload. With this is the text, “Balloon at launch, 856 feet (261 meters) tall.” The balloon stands next to a line drawing of the Washington Monument, which stands 555 feet (169 meters) tall. Next to this is a depiction of the balloon in flight, with the balloon fully inflated from the top down to the recovery parachute. The text says: “Balloon at altitude, 460 feet (140 meters) across.” Next to the payload drawing is the text, “SuperTIGER reaches a maximum height of about 127,000 feet (39,000 meters).” Near this is a drawing of a commercial jet and the text, “That’s nearly four times the typical cruising altitude of commercial airliners and above 99.5 percent of the atmosphere.”
SuperTIGER Infographic
NASA's Spitzer captured this image of nearby galaxy Messier 81 for its 16th anniversary.
More
M81 is a grand spiral galaxy, and in this image its arms appear as green vines twisting inward toward a central bright spot. Embedded in those arms are spots of yellow and orange light. All of this is on a background dotted with red and blue pinpricks of light.
An Infrared View of the M81 Galaxy
Estos tres mundos condenados estuvieron entre los primeros y más espeluznantes que se descubrieron mientras orbitaban su estrella no-muerta, conocida como un púlsar.
More
Estos tres mundos condenados estuvieron entre los primeros y más espeluznantes que se descubrieron mientras orbitaban su estrella no-muerta, conocida como un púlsar. El cadáver de Lich, como se le llama, es el núcleo colapsado de una estrella que explotó y que ahora tiene dos haces gemelos pulsantes de radiación y luz espantosa, girando más rápido de lo que puedes parpadear, devorando todo a su paso. Poltergeist y sus mundos vecinos, Phobetor y Draugr, son consumidos en este ataque de radiación constante que posiblemente enciende auroras irradiadas enfermizas. ¡Cuidado, seres vivientes! Solo los muertos vivientes pueden sobrevivir en este rincón, el más inhospitable de la galaxia.
Mundos Zombis – "Galaxy of Horrors" póster (En Español)
This illustration explains the electromagnetic force, one of the four fundamental forces in the universe.
More
This infographic is done mostly in shades of blue. At the top left is the title: "Electromagnetic Force." Below that is a block of text that reads: "The electromagnetic force holds together objects with opposite electrical charges, like the proton and electron that make up one hydrogen atom." Below and to the right of the text is an illustration of a hydrogen atom. A blue circle representing a proton sits in the middle of a larger, transparent white circle. A yellow electron is orbiting the proton, illustrated by a streak of yellow trailing the proton across the top of the white circle.
Electromagnetic Force
¡Esta galaxia escalofriantemente encantada dejó de crear estrellas, de manera misteriosa, solo unos pocos miles de millones de años tras el big bang!
More
Una estrella escarlata se cierne tras las ruinas de un exoplaneta que se asemeja en su forma a una calavera. Un brazo de galaxia rojo es visible en el fondo. Es evidente que esta galaxia, llamada MACS 2129-1, ha estado deteriorándose desde que dejó de producir estrellas solo unos pocos miles de millones de años después del Big Bang.
Cementerio Galáctico – "Galaxy of Horrors" póster (En Español)
NASA’s TESS captured these animated images of the northern sky over the course of one year.
More
A circular view of the northern sky with segments unfolded like a fan. The sky is full of stars, with a bright band of white light running nearly up and down just to the left of the center. This bright band is the plane of the Milky Way.
TESS's Northern Sky Vista
This image of the whole sky shows 22 months of data recorded by NASA's NICER mission aboard the International Space Station.
More
On a black background are a network of orange filaments connecting a number of bright spots. The bright spots indicate places where the filaments cross, and are sources in the sky where NICER often points its telescope. The swirling loops between those points reveal the path NICER’s telescope takes between these sources.
NICER's Night Moves Trace the X-ray Sky
NASA's Webb captured this image of the star-forming region NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula.
More
The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which, have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.
Webb Reveals the Carina Nebula
NASA's WISE captured this image of the Andromeda galaxy, also called Messier 31 or M31.
More
M31 is a spiral galaxy seen in this image against a black sky speckled with blue points of light. It appears like a flying disk toy seen tilted up and to the left, with a bright orange circle of light and tendrils of orange and pale blue light swirling in toward a central bright, white spot.
WISE Studies Our Neighbor Andromeda
This festive portrait of our Milky Way galaxy comes from ESA's Planck mission.
More
This oval image represents a view of the entire sky unfolded and laid out flat. Running horizontally across the middle of the oval is a bright line of white, which is light emitted by gas and dust in the plane of the Milky Way. Mottled red fills the oval with a few areas of yellow, especially along the plane of the Milky Way and extending above and below it. Over all of this, in the center, is a thick ring of blue.
A Milky Way 'Mixer' Amongst the Stars
A NASA Chandra panorama provides an X-ray view above and below the center of the Milky Way.
More
This vertical panoramic image depicts an area about the center of the Milky Way, with the field of view extending 1000 light years above and below the galaxy. The image resembles colorful gas clouds streaked with fine threads, dotted with a handful of brilliant white shapes. Throughout the image are tiny orange and purple dots set against a black backdrop. Across the center of the image is a horizontal, bright purple cloud with a glowing white core. This is the plane of the Milky Way, the disk where most of the Galaxy's stars reside. Below the plane of the Milky Way, near our lower left, is a bright, brick orange cloud. Above the plane, to our upper right, is a thin lilac cloud with some orange mist on the left. The orange cloud and mist are large plumes of hot gas. The colors represent different X-ray energies observed by Chandra. Even brighter than the glowing white core in the Milky Way are the brilliant white shapes that appear throughout the image. Two can be found to the right of the core, and two below the galaxy's plane. These are X-rays reflected from dust around bright X-ray sources.
Galactic Center Panorama in X-ray and Radio
AU Microscopii se encuentra entre los sistemas planetarios más jóvenes jamás observados por los astrónomos, ¡y su estrella tiene unas brutales rabietas!
More
Ubicado a menos de 32 años luz de la Tierra, AU Microscopii se encuentra entre los sistemas planetarios más jóvenes jamás observados por los astrónomos, ¡y su estrella tiene unas brutales rabietas! ¿Has oído hablar de los "terribles dos años"? Pues AU Mic está en medio de sus terribles 22… ¡millones de años! Este sistema joven diabólico mantiene cautivo a su planeta, AU Mic b, dentro de un disco de polvo fantasmal y lo atormenta incesantemente con explosiones mortales de rayos X y otras radiaciones, frustrando cualquier posibilidad de vida ... ¡tal como la conocemos! ¡Cuidado! No hay escapatoria a la furia estelar de este sistema. Las llamaradas monstruosas de AU Mic te harán rogar por la oscuridad eterna.
Llamaradas de Furia – "Galaxy of Horrors" póster (En Español)
This image from NASA's Spitzer shows the Cat's Paw Nebula.
More
This image shows a starry background bathed in green clouds. At the center is a bright region of yellow and red clouds with two smaller circles of red, taken together these red regions resemble a cat’s footprint.
Cat's Paw Nebula
AU Microscopii is one of the youngest planetary systems ever observed, and its star throws vicious temper tantrums!
More
Giant flares from a giant, bright young star in oranges, reds and bright yellow burst from the star, affecting a nearby planet. You can see the planet’s atmosphere being blasted away by the energy.
Flares of Fury – "Galaxy of Horrors" poster (English)
NASA's Spitzer satellite reveals infrared light from the star-forming nebula W51 in this image.
More
The nebula appears in shades of green, red, and yellow on a black starry background. The green swirls across the entire image with a large knot of red just to the right of center. Embedded in the green swirls are a few bright white and deep red spots that look like bubbles within the green clouds.
Star Factory W51
This composite image of Centaurus A shows magnetic fields streamlines over an image of the galaxy.
More
In the center of a black, starry background is a galaxy with two long jets. The galaxy shown in shades of white, orange, and brown looks like a thick pancake tilted to the left. The pancake appears furry with lines representing magnetic information from SOFIA embedded in the disk of the galaxy. From the center of the pancake, above and below it, are two plumes of orange that look like steam rising from a hot cup of tea.
Centaurus A
This illustration explains the gravitational force, one of the four fundamental forces in the universe.
More
This infographic is done mostly in shades of blue. At the top left is the title: "Gravitational Force." Below that is a block of text that reads: "Gravity, the force that draws objects together, can be understood as bends and curves in the fabric of space-time. Anything with mass makes these dents, from the Earth and Moon to turtles and cats." Below the text, taking up most of the image, is an illustration of Earth and the Moon which is on top of an oval that contains concentric rings outlined in orange representing the fabric of space-time. Directly beneath Earth and the Moon are dips in space-time.
Gravitational Force

Explore the Universe

Galaxies News

NGC 3156 is a lenticular galaxy, with two visible threads of dark reddish-brown dust crossing the galaxy’s disk.
More
Hubble Spots a Dreamy Galaxy
Hubble Spots a Dreamy Galaxy
A new collection of stunning images highlights data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes.
More
A Fab Five: New Images with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
A Fab Five: New Images with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
The swirls of the galaxy IC 1776 stand in splendid isolation in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
More
Hubble Images a Swirling Supernova Site
Hubble Images a Swirling Supernova Site
This huge ball of stars – around 100 billion in total – is an elliptical galaxy located some 55 million light-years away.
More
Hubble Views a Sphere of Stars
Hubble Views a Sphere of Stars
This galaxy in the constellation Eridanus is a ghostly assemblage of stars which resembles a sparkling cloud.
More
Hubble Sees a Sparkling Neighbor Galaxy
Hubble Sees a Sparkling Neighbor Galaxy
This distant galaxy cluster is a cosmic leviathan that is highly luminous at X-ray wavelengths.
More
Hubble Captures Cosmic Cluster
Hubble Captures Cosmic Cluster
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope continued observations of the farthest star ever detected in the very distant universe.
More
Webb Reveals Colors of Earendel, Most Distant Star Ever Detected
Webb Reveals Colors of Earendel, Most Distant Star Ever Detected
The glittering, glitzy contents of the globular cluster NGC 6652 sparkle in this star-studded image.
More
Hubble Glimpses a Glitzy Galactic Cluster
Hubble Glimpses a Glitzy Galactic Cluster
The two instruments aboard Euclid, an ESA spacecraft with NASA contributions, have captured their first test images.
More
Euclid Mission to Study Dark Universe Takes First Test Images
Euclid Mission to Study Dark Universe Takes First Test Images
The tranquil spiral galaxy UGC 12295 basks leisurely in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
More
Hubble Peers at a Tranquil Galaxy
Hubble Peers at a Tranquil Galaxy
The irregular galaxy Arp 263 lurks in the background of this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
More
Hubble Images a Starstruck Galaxy
Hubble Images a Starstruck Galaxy
The discovery of the most distant galaxy cluster is providing insight into how these gigantic structures formed and why the universe looks like it does.
More
Unexpectedly Calm and Remote Galaxy Cluster Discovered
Unexpectedly Calm and Remote Galaxy Cluster Discovered
While our telescopes can’t directly see dark matter, they can help us figure out more about it thanks to a phenomenon called gravitational lensing.
More
How Gravity Warps Light
How Gravity Warps Light
A new satellite called XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) aims to pry apart high-energy light into the equivalent of an X-ray rainbow.
More
XRISM Mission To Study ‘Rainbow' of X-rays
XRISM Mission To Study ‘Rainbow' of X-rays
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a monster in the making in this observation of the exceptional galaxy cluster eMACS J1353.7+4329.
More
Hubble Views a Galactic Monster
Hubble Views a Galactic Monster
This visualization of the galaxies captured as a part of the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey, showcases a large undertaking by Webb.
More
New 3D Visualization Highlights 5,000 Galaxies Revealed by Webb
New 3D Visualization Highlights 5,000 Galaxies Revealed by Webb
The spiral galaxy UGC 11860 seems to float serenely against a field of background galaxies in this image from the Hubble Space Telescope.
More
Hubble Observes a Stunning Spiral
Hubble Observes a Stunning Spiral
Observations of two Type II supernovae have revealed large amounts of dust within the ejecta of each of these objects.
More
Webb Locates Dust Reservoirs in Two Supernovae
Webb Locates Dust Reservoirs in Two Supernovae
The Euclid spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 11:12 a.m. EDT on Saturday, July 1.
More
ESA's Euclid Mission Launches to Explore ‘Dark Universe'
ESA's Euclid Mission Launches to Explore ‘Dark Universe'
The galaxy ESO 174-1, which resembles a hazy cloud against a backdrop of bright stars, dominates this image from Hubble Space Telescope.
More
Hubble Checks in on a Galactic Neighbor
Hubble Checks in on a Galactic Neighbor
Astronomers discovered an arrangement of 10 galaxies that existed just 830 million years after the big bang.
More
NASA's Webb Identifies the Earliest Strands of the Cosmic Web
NASA's Webb Identifies the Earliest Strands of the Cosmic Web
The galaxy NGC 7292 billows across this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
More
Hubble Captures a Billowing Irregular Galaxy
Hubble Captures a Billowing Irregular Galaxy
New data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has pinpointed the reason gas between stars and galaxies turned transparent.
More
NASA's Webb Proves Galaxies Transformed the Early Universe
NASA's Webb Proves Galaxies Transformed the Early Universe
The jellyfish galaxy JO206 trails across this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
More
Hubble Observes a Cosmic Sea Creature
Hubble Observes a Cosmic Sea Creature
A group of galaxies is plunging into the Coma galaxy cluster and leaving behind an enormous tail of superheated gas.
More
Galaxies Go on a Deep Dive and Leave Fiery Tail Behind
Galaxies Go on a Deep Dive and Leave Fiery Tail Behind