ESO

The galaxy Centaurus A (NGC 5128) is pictured in this image, taken with by the Wide Field Imager attached to the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile. With a total exposure time of more than 50 hours, this could be deepest view of Centaurus A ever created.

Astronomers are taking a long, deep look at one of the best-known galaxies beyond our own Milky Way, to learn more about what happened when it gobbled up another agglomeration of stars that got too close.

The entrails of the gobbled galaxy are prominent in this view of Centaurus A, a galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. The bright haze of stars is the typical signature of an elliptical galaxy, but the dark, swirling band of dust around the center is a tip-off that the "A" in Centaurus A stands for "atypical."

Scientists believe the band represents the dusty leftovers of the galaxy that has been consumed in a gravitationally driven merger. Flashes of fresh hot stars can be seen along the edges of the band. It's thought that an energetic black hole, 100 million times as massive as our sun, is blasting out strong radio emissions from the center of the haze.

Much of this has been seen before, in previous images of Centaurus A. But today's image, captured by the Wide Field Imager on the European Southern Observatory's MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope in Chile, reveals extra details. That's because the camera exposure lasted for more than 50 hours, making this one of the deepest views of Centaurus A ever produced.

One reddish filament of material is visible above the left edge of the dark band. A fainter filament can be made out near the upper left corner of the picture. These filaments, hotbeds for infant stars, appear to line up with radio-emitting jets that are being spewed out from the central black hole. Such features can help astronomers reconstruct how Centaurus A gobbled a galaxy in the first place, and how the remains are being digested. Further studies, involving ESO's ALMA Observatory, will shed additional light on the scene.

More about the gobbling galaxy:

• Hubble spies a firestorm of starbirth
• Giant galaxy caught in mid-gobble
• Snapshot reveals a black hole's jets
• Cosmic collision probably spawned huge galaxy
• Scientists find 'normal' black hole in Centaurus A

Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Slideshow: The World at Night 2012

Christoph Otawa / The World at Night

Experience the wonders of the night sky in a slideshow that features the winners of the 2012 "Earth & Sky" contest, presented by The World at Night.

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Light pollution never looked so good: The World at Night's annual photography contest highlights the beauties of the night sky, but it also highlights the challenges posed by humanity's efforts to light up the night.

This year's winners reveal how artificial lighting can add another dimension to the natural wonders of the stars and planets — or spoil the view forever. Hundreds of pictures were sent in from about 50 countries, including exotic locales such as the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, the national parks of Reunion Island and the savannas of South Africa, said Babak Tafreshi, the founder and leader of The World at Night. "We received a lot of submissions from Asian countries this year, especially China, India, Iran and Indonesia," the Iranian-born astrophotographer said in an email exchange.

He said the message of The World at Night is definitely getting out: "In general, it looks as if TWAN's aim of reclaiming the natural beauty of the night sky and promoting nightscape photography is reaching a growing audience worldwide, while the activities by amateur and professional astronomers and environmentalists to increase awareness on the light pollution issue is truly getting a lot of public attention."

This year's contest is limited to images taken since the beginning of 2011, but that leaves a lot to choose from — including pictures of Comet Lovejoy, the spectacular "Christmas Comet" that wowed skywatchers in the southern hemisphere, as well as the stunning auroral images that have cropped up over the past few months. Both those phenomena are represented in today's top-10 roundup from TWAN.

Tafreshi drew attention to two potential perils facing astrophotographers nowadays: light pollution and photo fakery. He noted that the increasing glare of city lights was "not just an astronomer's problem," but also "a major waste of energy, and like any other form of pollution, it disrupts ecosystems and has adverse health effects."

"Today, most city skies are virtually empty of stars," he said in his email. "About two-thirds of the human population today lives under light-polluted skies, not dark enough to see the Milky Way. Seeing a real dark sky is a must-see experience in the life of each of us, moments that you will not forget in your entire life."

Tafreshi also said there's a fast-rising concern about images that may not be telling the truth about the earth and sky.

"Unfortunately, a majority of photographers who are interested in nightscape photography are less familiar with astronomy, and the natural look and color of the night sky," he said. "So many landscape astrophotos today are intensely saturated, unnaturally contrasted, and sometimes with totally wrong colors of the sky. We had stunning compositions and amazing landscapes at night, some made by famous photographers, which were ruled out of the contest simply because they were 'overcooked' in processing."

You can rely on TWAN's prize-winning pictures to show the true glories of the night sky, along with the glow of the world below. Check out our slideshow, and read more of Tafreshi's observations in the comment space below.

More astronomy slideshows:

• The World at Night 2011
• Cosmic Log archive of auroral imagery
• All-time top 10 astronomy pictures from APOD
• Month in Space Pictures | Year in Space Pictures 2011

Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI

Two of Saturn's more than 60 moons join the ringed planet in this scene, captured by the Cassini orbiter on Jan. 19 and released on April 30. Tethys appears as a small white dot above the rings on the far left of the image. Enceladus appears as a smaller bright speck beside the planet. The rings cast wide shadows on the planet's southern latitudes.

Two of Saturn's moons are dwarfed by the giant planet and its rings in this family portrait from the Cassini spacecraft, which will mark its eighth year in Saturnian orbit in July. This image was put out by the Cassini imaging team on Monday, just a little too late to make our Top 20 roundup for the Month in Space Pictures — but it's worth passing along as a bonus prize.

You can see 660-mile-wide Tethys as a white dot toward the left edge of the image, and 313-mile-wide Enceladus as a smaller bright speck beside the planet. Tethys is thought to be composed mostly of water ice with a bit of rock mixed in, while Enceladus is a very special case: Cassini has repeatedly documented geysers of water ice spewing from fissures in that moon's surface — suggesting that liquid water and perhaps even living things may lie beneath. It'll be up to a future probe to plumb the mysteries of Enceladus more deeply.

Saturn's rings are seen nearly edge-on, and in this picture they're casting wide, curved shadows on Saturn's southern hemisphere. Bad Astronomy's Phil Plait says he can't help noticing the thin white ribbon of clouds stretching across the planet's northern hemisphere. Those may be the remnants of a monster storm that wrapped itself around the globe for months, starting in late 2010. "Our gas giants don't screw around," he writes. "When they do something, they do it big."

And when we do the Month in Space Pictures slideshow, we do it big as well. Click on the image below to see some of the best out-of-this-world views from the month of April. You'll find shots from the final flights of the shuttles Discovery and Enterprise, photos of weird phenomena on Mars and Uranus, and even a UFO (Galaxy, that is). If you want to find out more about the stories behind the pictures, leave a comment and I'll try to point you in the right direction.

Slideshow: Month in Space: A blaze of glory

NASA/SDO/AIA

Click through a solar eruption, the final odyssey of the shuttle Discovery and other outer-space highlights from April 2012.

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Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.