|   | 
Credit & Copyright: R. Jay  
GaBany   
(Cosmotography.com)  
  
  
Explanation:
Spiral galaxy  
NGC 7331  
is often touted as an analog to our own  
Milky Way.  
  
About 50 million light-years distant in the northern constellation  
Pegasus,  
NGC 7331 was recognized early on as  
a spiral  
nebula and is actually one of the  
brighter galaxies  
not included in Charles Messier's famous 18th  
century catalog.  
  
Since the galaxy's disk  
is inclined to our line-of-sight, deep telescopic  
exposures often result in an image that evokes a strong  
sense of depth.  
  
The effect is further enhanced in this well-framed view by the  
galaxies that lie beyond this beautiful  
island universe.  
  
The background galaxies are about one tenth the  
apparent size  
of NGC 7331 and so lie roughly ten times farther away.   
  
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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:
- APOD: 2025 September 4 Á NGC 4565: Galaxy on Edge
- 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 July 4 Á NGC 6946 and NGC 6939
- APOD: 2025 June 30 Á NGC 4651: The Umbrella Galaxy
- APOD: 2025 June 19 Á NGC 3521: Galaxy in a Bubble
