LOOK: 2016 Marks Another Year Of Amazing Space Photos

Much of the wonders of the universe still remain a mystery to humanity, but 2016 is the year astronomers and astronauts shone brightly as they shared photos of incredible cosmic events throughout the year.

From images of black holes in faraway galaxies to snapshots of wonders in our own solar system — with some captured by the hardworking astronauts aboard the International Space Station — Tech Times has compiled the most spectacular phenomena of the universe in 2016.

Black Holes

On Jan. 5, the Chandra X-Ray Center (CXC) released the amazing photo above showing a nearby supermassive black hole in the center of Galaxy NGC 5195 burping. There are two things to clarify in that statement: first is that, yes, the black hole is definitely "burping" since it was observed to be expelling gas, much like what happens when humans burp. Second, "nearby" actually means 26 million light-years away from Earth, in the Messier 51 galaxy system.

However, it doesn't stop at eating and burping because another observation made just a month later proved that reality is indeed stranger than fiction. CXC-captured images were combined with Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) snapshots to reveal the image of a literal death star in the Pictor A Galaxy, 500 million light-years away (below).

That is definitely a galaxy far, far away so the event most likely happened a long time ago. The photo is actually that of a black hole — a dead star — continuously shooting a jet of particles toward a hotspot 300,000 light-years away. But don't fret; the hotspot is fighting back with its own counterjet. The observation was made throughout a period of 15 years. The findings of astronomer Martin Hardcastle and his colleagues with regard to the phenomenon are published and available online.

The mere mention of black holes would bring people to think of a massive dark object consuming everything in its path, but the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Chandra X-Ray Observatory found proof in 2016 that this massive and scary cosmic event can do more than consume. The observations on black holes made by astronomers early this year are truly a massive step toward learning more about this mysterious cosmic event.

Eerie Glow

No, we still have not moved on from dead stars. The image above, released in October, is courtesy of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), and it shows the eerie yellowish glow of a supernova that exploded long ago in the Crab Nebula. What makes the photo incredible is not just the fact that what we are seeing is the ghostly glow of a long-dead cosmic object, but the revelation that astronomers observed continuous, steady, rhythmic pulses coming from the center of the neutron star. Very much like a heartbeat!

Mars

Let us take a break from dead things and turn our attention to the mission to find life. On March 14, Russia's Roscosmos space agency officially launched the EXOMARS 2016 Mission. Two months later, in June, the ESA and Roscosmos released the first color image of Mars' satellite Phobos, taken using the ExoMars orbiter's Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS).

Everywhere

To celebrate National Archive Month, NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory released some amazing images of space from its archives to share with the public. This year, Chandra released the photo above showing Westerlund 2, 3C31, PSR J1509-5850, CTB37A, Abell 665, and the Toothbrush Cluster.

The ISS

The photo above was taken by NASA just as the ISS transited the sun on Dec. 17. The image shows a silhouette of the ISS moving at roughly 5 miles per second. There are no words to describe the photo other than "wow."

Back To Earth

The hardworking astronauts aboard the ISS have shared some amazing photos, both on their personal social media accounts and as part of their work on the station. Tech Times can't really choose from the amazing photographs of Earth they shared, so here is the compilation of favorites from the ISS.