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 August 29
   [2]Spiral galaxy M66 is shown in infrared light as seen by the orbiting
      James Webb Space Telescope. A reddish-brown center is seen in the
       galaxy with a blue-colored spiral arms surrounding it. A close
     inspection will reveal that these spiral arms are not symmetrical.
          Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                     Unusual Spiral Galaxy M66 from Webb
    Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]CSA, [6]JWST; Processing: [7]Brian
                                  Tomlinson

   Explanation: Why isn't spiral galaxy [8]M66 symmetric? Usually,
   [9]density waves of gas, dust, and newly formed stars circle a
   [10]spiral galaxy's center and create a [11]nearly symmetric galaxy.
   The differences between M66's spiral arms and the apparent displacement
   of its [12]nucleus are all likely caused by previous close interactions
   and the [13]tidal gravitational pulls of nearby galaxy neighbors
   [14]M65 and NGC 3628. The galaxy, [15]featured here in [16]infrared
   light taken by the [17]James Webb Space Telescope, spans about 100,000
   [18]light years, lies about 35 million [19]light years distant, and is
   the largest galaxy in a group known as the [20]Leo Triplet. Like many
   spiral galaxies, the long and intricate [21]dust lanes of [22]M66 are
   seen intertwined with the [23]bright stars and [24]intergalactic dust
   that follow the spiral arms.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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    Authors & editors: [36]Robert Nemiroff ([37]MTU) & [38]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([39]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [40]Specific rights apply.
              [41]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [42]ASD at [43]NASA / [44]GSFC,
                         [45]NASA Science Activation
                           & [46]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2308/M66_JwstTomlinson_3521.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://www.esa.int/
   5. https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/
   6. https://webb.nasa.gov/
   7. https://www.instagram.com/bt_photo/
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_66
   9. https://youtu.be/c5Us-jonCLA
  10. http://www.seds.org/messier/spir.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210312.html
  12. https://www.glyphweb.com/esky/concepts/galacticnucleus.html
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_force
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210320.html
  15. https://www.flickr.com/photos/brian_tomlinson/52631087860/in/pool-apods/
  16. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves
  17. https://webb.nasa.gov/content/about/index.html
  18. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html
  19. https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question19.html
  20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Triplet
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html
  22. https://esahubble.org/videos/heic1006a/
  23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_brightest_stars
  24. https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/d/Dust+Grain
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230828.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  34. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230829
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230830.html
  36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  37. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  38. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  39. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  42. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  45. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  46. http://www.mtu.edu/