Centaurus A is the first galaxy to be studied with the Hubble's infrared camera.

BBC: Hubble spies black hole gobbling galaxy

Rather than trading natural gas, Arnold has spent 2012 winding down his fund, Centaurus Advisors.

FORBES: John Arnold

The head of Centaurus Advisors suffered his first losing year in 2010, rumored to be down 8%.

FORBES: Hedging For Billions

When the energy outfit famously collapsed a year later, he went into business for himself, founding Centaurus.

FORBES: John Arnold

Centaurus A is the closest of the "active galaxies", which are galaxies spewing out huge amounts of energy and light.

BBC: Hubble spies black hole gobbling galaxy

Centaurus A is immense, perhaps 50 times larger than the Milky Way, home to the Earth and about 100 billion stars.

BBC: Hubble spies black hole gobbling galaxy

After the business collapsed, he started his own hedge fund, Centaurus Energy.

FORBES: Young Billionaires

When Enron collapsed a year later, he went into business for himself founding Centaurus, a hedge fund focusing mostly on natural gas, energy trading.

FORBES: Valuations

Although Centaurus, which is run by former traders from BNP Paribas, the country's largest bank by assets, is reasonably well-regarded, Pardus, a foreign fund known for its abrasive style, is viewed with suspicion.

ECONOMIST: Business in France

It took a prolonged war of words and a nasty public fight at the annual general meeting of Atos Origin, a computer-services firm, for Pardus Capital and a London-based hedge fund, Centaurus Capital, to win board seats at the end of May (Atos's chairman was also ousted).

ECONOMIST: Business in France