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Credit & Copyright: Leonardo Orazi
Explanation:
What could cause the center of
M94 to be so bright?
Spiral galaxy
M94 has a ring of newly formed stars surrounding its nucleus,
giving it not only an
unusual appearance but also a strong interior glow.
A leading progenitor hypothesis holds that an elongated
knot of stars known as a
bar rotates in
M94 and has generated a burst of
star formation in the
inner ring.
Recent observations have revealed the outer, fainter ring is not closed and
relatively complex.
M94,
pictured here spans about 30,000 light years, lies about 15 million light years away,
and can be seen with a
small telescope toward the constellation of the Hunting Dogs
(Canes Venatici).
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A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: spiral galaxy - starburst galaxy
Publications with words: spiral galaxy - starburst galaxy
See also: