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Credit & Copyright: Mark Hanson
and
Mike Selby
Explanation:
An island
universe
of billions of stars,
NGC 1566 lies about 60 million light-years away in the southern
constellation
Dorado.
Popularly known as the Spanish Dancer galaxy, it's seen face-on from our
Milky Way perspective.
A gorgeous grand design spiral, this galaxy's
two graceful spiral arms span over 100,000 light-years,
traced by bright blue star clusters,
pinkish starforming regions, and swirling
cosmic dust
lanes.
NGC 1566's
flaring center makes the spiral one of the closest and brightest
Seyfert
galaxies.
It likely houses a central
supermassive black hole wreaking havoc on
surrounding stars, gas, and dust.
In this sharp southern galaxy portrait,
the spiky stars lie well within the Milky Way.
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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: