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.

                                2022 June 15
   [2]The featured image shows the central portion of the Virgo Cluster of
        Galaxies including the bright galaxies labelled M84, M86, and
       Markarian's Eyes. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                      In the Heart of the Virgo Cluster
               Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Saulius Adomaitis

   Explanation: The [4]Virgo Cluster of Galaxies is the closest cluster of
   galaxies to our [5]Milky Way Galaxy. The [6]Virgo Cluster is so close
   that it spans more than 5 [7]degrees on the sky - about 10 times the
   angle made by a [8]full Moon. With its heart lying about 70 million
   light years distant, the [9]Virgo Cluster is the nearest [10]cluster of
   galaxies, contains over 2,000 galaxies, and has a [11]noticeable
   gravitational pull on the galaxies of the [12]Local Group of Galaxies
   surrounding our [13]Milky Way Galaxy. [14]The cluster contains not only
   galaxies filled with stars but also [15]gas so hot it glows in
   [16]X-rays. Motions of [17]galaxies in and around clusters indicate
   that they contain more [18]dark matter than any visible matter we can
   see. Pictured here, the heart of the [19]Virgo Cluster includes bright
   [20]Messier galaxies such as [21]Markarian's Eyes on the upper left,
   [22]M86 just to the upper right of center, [23]M84 on the far right, as
   well as spiral galaxy [24]NGC 4388 at the bottom right.

   Celestial Surprise: [25]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday?
                                 (post 1995)
                  Birthday? Tomorrow's picture: open space
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    Authors & editors: [37]Robert Nemiroff ([38]MTU) & [39]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([40]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [41]Specific rights apply.
              [42]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [43]ASD at [44]NASA / [45]GSFC
                           & [46]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2206/VirgoCentral_Adomaitis_2820.jpg
   3. https://www.facebook.com/saulius.adomaitis.3
   4. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150804.html
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/milky_way.html
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgo_Cluster
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degree_(angle)
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220612.html
   9. http://messier.seds.org/more/virgo.html
  10. http://www.astr.ua.edu/white/mug/cluster/clusters.html
  11. https://i.pinimg.com/550x/81/21/c0/8121c0291fa14d1fe52b9eb007741cac.jpg
  12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Group
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080606.html
  14. https://www.astrobin.com/9486/A/?q=Virgo cluster
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap960419.html
  16. https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_astro/xrays.html
  17. http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-are-galaxies/
  18. https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_astro/dark_matter.html
  19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgo_Cluster
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000311.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070608.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180814.html
  23. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_84
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap020603.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220614.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  30. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  35. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220615
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220616.html
  37. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  38. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  39. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  40. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  41. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  43. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  46. http://www.mtu.edu/