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Credit & Copyright: Alessandro Falesiedi
Explanation:
Large spiral galaxy NGC 891 spans about 100 thousand light-years
and is seen almost exactly edge-on from our perspective.
In fact, about 30 million light-years distant in the constellation
Andromeda, NGC 891 looks a
lot like our Milky Way.
At first glance, it has a
flat,
thin, galactic disk of stars and
a central bulge cut along the middle by
regions of dark obscuring dust.
But remarkably apparent in NGC 891's
edge-on presentation are filaments
of dust that extend hundreds of
light-years above and below the center line.
The dust has likely been blown out of the disk
by supernova explosions or intense
star formation activity.
Fainter galaxies can also be seen near the edge-on disk
in this deep
portrait
of NGC 891.
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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 - edge-on
Publications with words: spiral galaxy - edge-on
See also:
- Webb and Hubble: IC 5332
- APOD: 2026 February 4 Á Spiral Galaxy NGC 1512: Wide Field
- Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1365 from Webb
- APOD: 2026 January 14 Á M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy
- IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis
- NGC 253: Dusty Island Universe
- APOD: 2025 November 5 Á Spiral Galaxy NGC 3370 from Hubble