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 September 5
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                             NGC 247 and Friends
   Image Credit & [3]Copyright: Acquisition - [4]Eric Benson, Processing -
                              [5]Dietmar Hager

   Explanation: About 70,000 light-years across, [6]NGC 247 is a spiral
   galaxy smaller than our Milky Way. [7]Measured to be only 11 million
   light-years distant it is nearby though. Tilted nearly edge-on as seen
   [8]from our perspective, it dominates this telescopic field of view
   toward the southern constellation Cetus. The pronounced void on one
   side of the galaxy's disk recalls for some its popular name, the
   Needle's Eye galaxy. Many background galaxies are visible in this sharp
   galaxy portrait, including the remarkable string of four galaxies just
   below and left of NGC 247 known as Burbidge's Chain. [9]Burbidge's
   Chain galaxies are about 300 million light-years distant. NGC 247
   itself is part of the Sculptor Group of galaxies along with [10]shiny
   spiral NGC 253.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
     __________________________________________________________________

      [11]< | [12]Archive | [13]Submissions | [14]Index | [15]Search |
   [16]Calendar | [17]RSS | [18]Education | [19]About APOD | [20]Discuss |
                                    [21]>
     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [22]Robert Nemiroff ([23]MTU) & [24]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([25]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [26]Specific rights apply.
               [27]NASA Web Privacy, [28]Accessibility Notices
                A service of: [29]ASD at [30]NASA / [31]GSFC,
                         [32]NASA Science Activation
                           & [33]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2409/NGC247-Hag-Ben2048.JPG
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. http://www.faintgalaxy.com/
   5. https://www.facebook.com/StargazerObservatory/
   6. https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1107/
   7. https://arxiv.org/abs/0905.2699
   8. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/universe-uncovered/hubble-galaxies/
   9. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1960ApJ...131..742B/abstract
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180322.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240904.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  15. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  20. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240905
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240906.html
  22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  25. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  27. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  29. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  32. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  33. http://www.mtu.edu/