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.

                                2024 March 21
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                                The Leo Trio
               Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Steve Cannistra

   Explanation: This popular group leaps into the early evening sky around
   the March equinox and [5]the northern hemisphere spring. Famous as the
   [6]Leo Triplet, the three magnificent galaxies found in the prominent
   [7]constellation Leo gather here in one astronomical field of view.
   Crowd pleasers when imaged with even modest telescopes, they can be
   introduced individually as NGC 3628 (left), M66 (bottom right), and M65
   (top). All three are large [8]spiral galaxies but tend to look
   dissimilar, because their galactic disks are tilted at different angles
   to our line of sight. [9]NGC 3628, also known as the Hamburger Galaxy,
   is temptingly seen edge-on, with obscuring dust lanes cutting across
   its puffy galactic plane. The disks [10]of M66 and [11]M65 are both
   inclined enough to show off their spiral structure. Gravitational
   interactions between galaxies in the group have left telltale signs,
   including the tidal tails and warped, inflated disk of NGC 3628 and the
   drawn out spiral arms of M66. [12]This gorgeous view of the region
   spans over 1 degree (two full moons) on the sky in a frame that covers
   over half a million light-years at the trio's estimated distance of 30
   million light-years.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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    Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([27]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [28]Specific rights apply.
               [29]NASA Web Privacy, [30]Accessibility Notices
                A service of: [31]ASD at [32]NASA / [33]GSFC,
                         [34]NASA Science Activation
                           & [35]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2403/leotripletasi294large.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. http://www.starrywonders.com/copyright.html
   5. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-vernal-or-spring-equinox
   6. http://messier.seds.org/more/m066gr.html
   7. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/leo-heres-your-constellation
   8. http://cass.ucsd.edu/archive/public/tutorial/Galaxies.html
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140508.html
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-66/
  11. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-65/
  12. http://www.starrywonders.com/leotripletasi294small.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240320.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=240321
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240322.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://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  31. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  34. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  35. http://www.mtu.edu/