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 October 6
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                         NGC 4631: The Whale Galaxy
               Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Michael Sherick

   Explanation: [5]NGC 4631 is a big beautiful spiral galaxy. Seen
   [6]edge-on, it lies only 25 million light-years away in the
   well-trained northern constellation [7]Canes Venatici. The galaxy's
   slightly distorted wedge shape suggests to some a cosmic herring and to
   others its popular moniker, The Whale Galaxy. Either way, it is similar
   in size to our own [8]Milky Way. In [9]this sharp color image, the
   galaxy's yellowish core, dark dust clouds, bright blue star clusters,
   and red star forming regions are easy to spot. A companion galaxy, the
   small elliptical NGC 4627 is just above the Whale Galaxy. [10]Faint
   star streams seen in deep images are the remnants of small companion
   galaxies disrupted by repeated encounters with the Whale in the distant
   past. The Whale Galaxy is also known to have spouted a halo of hot gas
   glowing [11]in X-rays.

                     Tomorrow's picture: jovian close-up
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    Authors & editors: [23]Robert Nemiroff ([24]MTU) & [25]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([26]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [27]Specific rights apply.
              [28]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important 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/2210/ngc4631_sherick.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.astrobin.com/users/sagrada737/
   5. http://messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/n4631.html
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220526.html
   7. http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/cvn/index.html
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160524.html
   9. https://www.astrobin.com/nau6rh/
  10. http://www.cosmotography.com/images/small_new_ngc4631.html
  11. http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/01_releases/press_071901.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221005.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  16. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  21. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=221006
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221007.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  26. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  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/