Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2024 December 26
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                            Grand Spiral NGC 5643
                 Image Credit: [3]ESA / [4]Hubble & [5]NASA

   Explanation: Viewed face-on, grand spiral galaxy NGC 5643 has a
   [6]festive appearance in this [7]colorful cosmic portrait. Some 55
   million light-years distant, the galaxy extends for over 100,000
   light-years, seen within the boundaries of the southern constellation
   Lupus. Its [8]inner 40,000 light-years are shown in sharp detail in
   this composite of Hubble Space Telescope image data. The galaxy's
   magnificent spiral arms wind from a yellowish central region dominated
   by light from old stars, while the spiral arms themselves are traced by
   dust lanes, young blue stars and [9]reddish star forming regions. The
   bright compact core of NGC 5643 is also known as a strong emitter of
   [10]radio waves and [11]X-rays. In fact, NGC 5643 is one of the closest
   examples of the [12]Seyfert class of active galaxies, where vast
   amounts of dust and gas are thought to be falling into a central
   massive [13]black hole.

                Tomorrow's picture: planet Earth at twilight
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    Authors & editors: [25]Robert Nemiroff ([26]MTU) & [27]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([28]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [29]Specific rights apply.
              [30]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [31]ASD at [32]NASA / [33]GSFC,
                         [34]NASA Science Activation
                           & [35]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2412/Hubble_NGC5643_potw2450a.jpg
   3. https://www.esa.int/
   4. https://www.spacetelescope.org/
   5. https://www.nasa.gov/
   6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYMTXZ1a2NU&t=10s
   7. https://esahubble.org/images/potw2450a/
   8. https://esahubble.org/videos/potw2450a/
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050930.html
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/05_radiowaves
  11. http://chandra.harvard.edu/learn_light.html
  12. http://www.seyfertgalaxies.com/
  13. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/black-holes/en/
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241225.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  18. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  23. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=241226
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241227.html
  25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  28. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  31. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  34. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  35. http://www.mtu.edu/