Документ взят из кэша поисковой машины. Адрес оригинального документа : http://www.sai.msu.su/apod/ap960106.html
Дата изменения: Unknown
Дата индексирования: Tue Oct 2 08:06:52 2012
Кодировка:
APOD: January 6, 1996 - Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy M32

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day we feature a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

January 6, 1996
See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download 
 the highest resolution version available.
Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy M32
Credit: 1.1 Meter Hall Telescope, Lowell Observatory, Bill Keel (U. Alabama)

Explanation: Being the largest galaxy around can sometimes make you popular. Pictured is M31's companion galaxy M32. M31, the Andromeda galaxy, is the largest galaxy in our Local Group of galaxies - even our tremendous Milky Way Galaxy is smaller. Little M32 is visible in most pictures of M31 - it is the small circular spot north of M31's center. M32 is a dwarf elliptical galaxy. Elliptical galaxies have little or no measurable gas or dust - they are composed completely of stars and typically appear more red than spiral galaxies. Elliptical galaxies do not have disks - they generally have oblong shapes and therefore show elliptical profiles on the sky.

Tomorrow's picture: Mercury Astronauts and a Redstone


| Archive | Glossary | Education | About APOD |
Top 5 logo Best pick logo Cool NASA site logo

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (GMU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA).
NASA Technical Rep.: Sherri Calvo. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC