|
Credit & Copyright: ESA/Hubble &
NASA and
S. Smartt
(Queen's University Belfast);
Acknowledgement: Robert Gendler
Explanation:
This huge swirling mass of stars, gas, and dust occurs near the center of a nearby
spiral galaxy.
Gorgeous spiral
NGC 3521 is a mere 35 million light-years
distant, toward the
constellation Leo.
Spanning some 50,000
light-years, its central region is shown in
this dramatic image,
constructed from data from the
Hubble Space Telescope.
The close-up view highlights this galaxy's
characteristic multiple, patchy, irregular spiral arms laced
with
dust and clusters of young, blue stars.
In contrast, many
other spirals exhibit grand, sweeping arms.
A relatively bright galaxy in planet Earth's sky,
NGC 3521 is
easily visible in small telescopes, but often overlooked by
amateur imagers in favor of other Leo spiral galaxies,
like M65 and M66.
Date the Universe:
APOD 2016 Wall Calendars
|
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: spiral galaxy - stars
Publications with words: spiral galaxy - stars
See also: