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 December 22
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                     NGC 1365: Majestic Island Universe
                 Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Martin Pugh

   Explanation: Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is truly a majestic
   [5]island universe some 200,000 light-years across. Located a mere 60
   million light-years away toward the faint but heated constellation
   [6]Fornax, NGC 1365 is a [7]dominant member of the well-studied
   [8]Fornax Cluster of galaxies. This impressively [9]sharp color image
   shows the intense, reddish star forming regions near the ends of
   central bar and along the spiral arms, with details of the obscuring
   dust lanes cutting across the galaxy's bright core. At the core lies a
   supermassive black hole. Astronomers think [10]NGC 1365's prominent bar
   plays a crucial role in the [11]galaxy's evolution, drawing gas and
   dust into a star-forming maelstrom and ultimately feeding material into
   the [12]central black hole.

                     Tomorrow's picture: northern Saturn
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    Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([27]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [28]Specific rights apply.
              [29]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [30]ASD at [31]NASA / [32]GSFC,
                         [33]NASA Science Activation
                           & [34]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2212/NGC1365-CDK24-CDK17.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.martinpughastrophotography.space/about
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100109.html
   6. https://earthsky.org/constellations/fornax-the-furnace-galaxy-hubble-ultra-deep-field/
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160611.html
   8. http://heritage.stsci.edu/2005/09/supplemental.html
   9. https://www.martinpughastrophotography.space/galaxies
  10. http://arxiv.org/abs/0907.2602
  11. https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/1999/34/898-Image.html
  12. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-image-webb-galaxy-ngc-supermassive.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221221.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  17. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  22. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=221222
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221223.html
  24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  27. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  30. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  33. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  34. http://www.mtu.edu/