Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

The Virgo Cluster: Hot Plasma and Dark Matter

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 19, 1996 is “The Virgo Cluster: Hot Plasma and Dark Matter,” an image. It is credited to Credit: R. Mushotzky and S. Snowden LHEA/ GSFC, ROSAT. The original explanation runs about 174 words.

The Virgo Cluster: Hot Plasma and Dark Matter
Credit: R. Mushotzky and S. Snowden LHEA/ GSFC, ROSAT Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“This ROSAT image of the Virgo cluster of galaxies reveals a hot X-ray emitting plasma or gas with a temperature of 10-100 million degrees pervading the cluster. False colors have been used to represent the intensity of X-ray emission.”

— APOD editors, April 19, 1996

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
April 19, 1996
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: R. Mushotzky and S. Snowden LHEA/ GSFC, ROSAT
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 174 words

All of April 1996 → · 1996 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: April 19 in other years

On Amazon

Popular picks for space fans

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.