The week in infographics: a hidden black hole and COVID reinfections

Like the one depicted in this image, active galactic nuclei are the luminous cores of some galaxies also are thought to be powered by supermassive black holes. This week, researchers reported that they had captured a clear image of a nearby active galactic nucleus, revealing a glowing doughnut-shaped object encircling a hidden black hole.

The light emitted by the most active galactic nuclei contains vital characteristics that allow the nuclei to be classified as type 1 or type 2 objects. According to a widely accepted unified model, this distinction arises because the queue of sight to type 2 objects is obscured by a dusty torus of matter that provides the black hole. A News & Views article goes into greater detail about how the researchers accomplished the difficult task of imaging the dust that coats the black hole.  

 

Reinfections with COVID are on the rise.

Since the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 was discovered, the number of people reinfected with the coronavirus has been steadily increasing — a trend not seen with previous variants. Using data from the UK Health Security Agency, this graph depicts how reinfections in England have increased.

A one-year journey across Mars

NASA's Perseverance rover has toured more than 3 kilometers across rocky terrain since landing on Mars one year ago, as shown on this map. Perseverance landed in Jezero Crater, just north of the Martian equator, on February 18, 2021.  

The mission's goal is to look for evidence of past life. Perseverance has spent the year moving around the crater's bottom, collecting six precious rock samples that, if all goes well, will be returned to Earth for study. A News article examines the ups and downs of Perseverance's first daring year.