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.

                                2021 April 2
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                        NGC 3521: Galaxy in a Bubble
   Image Credit & [3]Copyright: Acquisition - [4]Eric Benson, Processing -
                              [5]Dietmar Hager

   Explanation: Gorgeous spiral galaxy NGC 3521 is a mere 35 million
   light-years away, toward the [6]constellation Leo. Relatively bright 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 [7]M66 and M65. It's hard to overlook in this colorful
   cosmic portrait
   , though. Spanning some 50,000 light-years the galaxy sports
   [8]characteristic patchy, irregular spiral arms laced with dust, pink
   star forming regions, and clusters of young, blue stars. Remarkably,
   this deep image also finds NGC 3521 embedded in gigantic bubble-like
   shells. The shells are likely tidal debris, streams of stars torn from
   satellite galaxies that have [9]undergone mergers with NGC 3521 in the
   distant past.

         Tomorrow's picture: How far light travels over the weekend.
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [21]Robert Nemiroff ([22]MTU) & [23]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([24]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [25]Specific rights apply.
              [26]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [27]ASD at [28]NASA / [29]GSFC
                           & [30]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2104/NGC3521-LRGB-1.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. http://www.faintgalaxy.com/
   5. https://www.facebook.com/StargazerObservatory/
   6. http://www.universetoday.com/21173/leo/
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210320.html
   8. https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.03653
   9. http://www.cosmotography.com/images/galaxy_formation_and_evolution.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210401.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  14. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  19. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=210402
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210403.html
  21. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  24. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  26. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  27. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  30. http://www.mtu.edu/