The firmament in X-rays

This all-sky image shows 22 months of X-ray data recorded by NASA’s Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) instrument, which travels aboard the Space Station International, during its sweeps between the different objectives it aims at.

Each arc marks the path of X-rays, as well as the occasional impacts of energetic particles. The brightness of each point in the image is the result of these contributions, as well as the time NICER has spent looking in that direction.

A diffuse glow saturates the sky with X-rays, even far from the sources where the glow originates. (Source: Noelia G. Gonzalez Moreira / NASA)

(Image: NASA/NICER)