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Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby,
Warren Keller
Explanation:
This gorgeous island universe lies about 85 million light-years
distant in the southern
constellation
Fornax.
Inhabited by young blue star clusters, the
tightly wound
spiral arms of NGC 1350
seem to join in a circle around the galaxy's large,
bright nucleus, giving it the appearance of a
cosmic eye.
In fact, NGC 1350 is about 130,000 light-years across.
That makes it as large or slightly larger than the Milky Way.
For
earth-based
astronomers,
NGC 1350 is seen on the outskirts of the
Fornax cluster
of galaxies, but its estimated distance suggests that
it is not itself a cluster member.
Of course, the bright spiky stars in the foreground of this
telescopic field of view are members of our own spiral
Milky
Way galaxy.
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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: