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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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.
NGC 4945 in Centaurus
Explanation: Large, dusty, spiral galaxy NGC 4945 is seen edge-on near the center of this rich telescopic image . The field of view spans nearly 2 degrees, or about 4 times the width of the Full Moon, toward the expansive southern constellation Centaurus . About 13 million light-years distant, NGC 4945 is almost the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy . But X-ray and infrared observations reveal even more high energy emission and star formation in the core of NGC 4945 . The other prominent galaxy in the field, NGC 4976, is an elliptical galaxy . Left of center, NGC 4976 is much farther away, at a distance of about 35 million light-years, and not physically associated with NGC 4945.
| Date | January 9, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit & Copyright: Dietmar Hager , Thorsten Brandes , Johannes Schedler |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |