Did you know only about 1% of galaxies in our local universe belong to a rare category called “post-starburst” galaxies? NGC 1266 is one of them, and its backstory reads like a cosmic drama. About 500 million years ago, astronomers believe NGC 1266 went through a minor merger with another galaxy. That collision did two things at once: it triggered an intense burst of new star formation, and it funneled huge amounts of gas toward the supermassive black hole at its center. That gas “feast” woke the black hole up, turning it into what astronomers call an active galactic nucleus (AGN). And an active black hole doesn’t stay quiet —…