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Resembling looming rain clouds on a stormy day, dark lanes of dust crisscross the giant elliptical galaxy Centaurus A. Hubble's panchromatic vision, stretching from ultraviolet through near-infrared wavelengths, reveals the vibrant glow of young, blue star clusters and a glimpse into regions normally obscured by the dust. The warped shape of Centaurus A's disk of gas and dust is evidence for a past collision and merger with another galaxy. The resulting shockwaves cause hydrogen gas clouds to compress, triggering a firestorm of new star formation. These are visible in the red patches in this Hubble close-up. At a distance of just over 11 million light-years, Centaurus A contains the closest active galactic nucleus to Earth. The center is home for a supermassive black hole that ejects jets of high-speed gas into space, but neither the supermassive black hole or the jets are visible in this image. This image was taken in July 2010 with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3. Français : Ressemblant à des nuages ​​de pluie qui menace un jour de tempête, ruelles sombres de poussière sillonnent le galaxie elliptique géante Centaurus A. Vision panchromatique de Hubble, qui s'étend de l'ultraviolet à travers le proche infrarouge, révèle l'éclat vibrant de jeunes, des amas d'étoiles bleues et un aperçu dans les régions normalement obscurcis par la poussière. La forme dévoyée de disque de Centaurus A du gaz et de poussières est la preuve d'une collision passée et fusion avec une autre galaxie. Les ondes de choc résultant provoquer des nuages ​​de gaz d'hydrogène à comprimer, déclenchant une tempête de formation de nouvelles étoiles. Ce sont visibles dans les taches rouges dans cette Hubble close-up. À une distance de plus de 11 millions d'années-lumièr