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Credit & Copyright: Eric Coles and
Mel Helm
Explanation:
No, hamburgers are not this big.
What is pictured is a sharp telescopic views of a magnificent edge-on spiral
galaxy NGC
3628 show a puffy
galactic disk divided by dark dust lanes.
Of course, this
deep galactic portrait
puts some astronomers
in mind of its popular moniker,
The Hamburger Galaxy.
The tantalizing island
universe
is about 100,000 light-years across and 35 million light-years away in
the northern springtime
constellation Leo.
NGC 3628
shares its neighborhood in the
local
Universe with two other large spirals
M65 and
M66 in a grouping
otherwise known as the Leo Triplet.
Gravitational
interactions with
its cosmic neighbors are likely responsible for the extended flare and warp
of this spiral's disk.
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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: spiral galaxy
Publications with words: spiral galaxy
See also: