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Credit & Copyright: Robert Gendler
Explanation:
Spiral galaxies viewed face-on display a
grand design, with
graceful spiral arms traced by bright star clusters and
glowing stellar nurseries.
When seen edge-on, their appearance is very different but no less striking
as their central regions bulge and dark cosmic
dust lanes appear silhouetted against starlight from flattened galactic disks.
This masterful mosaic of
digital images
shows nine prominent edge-on
spirals arranged as follows:
top;
NGC2683,
M104,
NGC4565,
middle;
NGC891,
NGC4631,
NGC3628, and
bottom;
NGC5746,
NGC5907, and
NGC4217.
Perhaps the best known of these is
M104 (NGC4594)
whose
more descriptive moniker is the Sombrero Galaxy.
Notably, the edge-on perspective of these galaxies
allows
a measurement of their
galactic rotation speed using the
Doppler
effect.
Plotting rotation
speed versus distance from the
center determines a galaxy's gravitational mass and
historically led to premier evidence
of the mysterious dark matter.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: dust - edge-on - spiral galaxy
Publications with words: dust - edge-on - spiral galaxy
See also:
- APOD: 2025 August 28 Á Galaxies, Stars, and Dust
- APOD: 2025 August 27 Á WISPIT 2b: Exoplanet Carves Gap in Birth Disk
- APOD: 2025 August 22 Á A Tale of Two Nebulae
- APOD: 2025 August 19 Á Giant Galaxies in Pavo
- APOD: 2025 August 18 Á NGC 1309: A Useful Spiral Galaxy
- APOD: 2025 August 10 Á Zodiacal Road
- APOD: 2025 July 4 Á NGC 6946 and NGC 6939