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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.
The Twisted Disk of NGC 4753
Explanation: What do you think this is? Here's a clue: it's bigger than a bread box. Much bigger . The answer is that pictured NGC 4753 is a twisted disk galaxy , where unusual dark dust filaments provide clues about its history. No one is sure what happened, but a leading model holds that a relatively normal disk galaxy gravitationally ripped apart a dusty satellite galaxy while its precession distorted the plane of the accreted debris as it rotated. The cosmic collision is hypothesized to have started about a billion years ago. NGC 4753 is seen from the side, and possibly would look like a normal spiral galaxy from the top. The bright orange halo is composed of many older stars that might trace dark matter . The featured Hubble image was recently reprocessed to highlight ultraviolet and red-light emissions.
APOD Year in Review: NASA Night Sky Network Presentation for 2024
| Date | December 31, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble ; Processing: Alexander Reinartz |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |