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Credit & Copyright: NASA,
ESA,
Hubble,
ESO, Amateur Data;
Processing & Copyright:
Robert Gendler &
Roberto
Colombari
Explanation:
Image
data from the Hubble Space Telescope,
the European Southern Observatory,
and small telescopes on planet Earth are combined in this
magnificent portrait of face-on spiral galaxy Messier 61 (M61).
A mere 55 million light-years away in the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies,
M61 is also
known as NGC 4303.
It's considered to be an example of a barred spiral galaxy
similar to
our own Milky Way.
Like other spiral galaxies, M61 also features sweeping spiral arms,
cosmic dust lanes, pinkish star forming regions, and young blue star
clusters.
The bright galactic core is offset to the left in this
50
thousand light-year wide close-up.
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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: M 61 - spiral galaxy
Publications with words: M 61 - spiral galaxy
See also: