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.

                                2023 March 2
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                             Unraveling NGC 3169
         Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Mike Selby & [5]Mark Hanson

   Explanation: Spiral galaxy NGC 3169 looks to be unraveling like a ball
   of cosmic yarn. It lies some 70 million light-years away, [6]south of
   bright star Regulus toward the faint constellation Sextans. Wound up
   spiral arms are pulled out into sweeping tidal tails as NGC 3169 (left)
   and neighboring NGC 3166 [7]interact gravitationally. Eventually the
   galaxies will merge into one, a common fate even for bright galaxies in
   [8]the local universe. Drawn out stellar arcs and plumes are clear
   indications of the ongoing gravitational interactions across the deep
   and colorful [9]galaxy group photo. The telescopic frame spans about 20
   arc minutes or about 400,000 light-years at the group's estimated
   distance, and includes smaller, bluish NGC 3165 at the right. NGC 3169
   is also known to shine across the spectrum from radio to X-rays,
   [10]harboring an active galactic nucleus that is the site of a
   supermassive black hole.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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    Authors & editors: [22]Robert Nemiroff ([23]MTU) & [24]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([25]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [26]Specific rights apply.
              [27]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [28]ASD at [29]NASA / [30]GSFC,
                         [31]NASA Science Activation
                           & [32]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2303/NGC3169LRGBrevFinalcropCDK1000_27Feb2023_2048.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.facebook.com/masterdarksastro/
   5. https://www.hansonastronomy.com/
   6. http://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso1114a/
   7. https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-ngc3166/
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120604.html
   9. http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galgrps/leoii.html
  10. http://arxiv.org/abs/0801.4382
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230301.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=230302
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230303.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://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  31. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  32. http://www.mtu.edu/