Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2025 March 27
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                                 Messier 81
                Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Lorand Fenyes

   Explanation: One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky is
   similar in size to our Milky Way Galaxy: big, [5]beautiful Messier 81.
   Also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's galaxy for its 18th century
   discoverer, this grand spiral can be found toward the northern
   constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. [6]The sharp, detailed
   telescopic view reveals M81's bright yellow nucleus, blue spiral arms,
   pinkish starforming regions, and sweeping [7]cosmic dust lanes. But
   some dust lanes actually run through the galactic disk (left of
   center), contrary to other prominent [8]spiral features. The [9]errant
   dust lanes may be the lingering result of a [10]close encounter between
   M81 and the nearby galaxy M82 lurking outside of this frame. Scrutiny
   of variable stars in M81 has yielded a [11]well-determined distance for
   an external galaxy -- 11.8 million light-years.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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    Authors & editors: [23]Robert Nemiroff ([24]MTU) & [25]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([26]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [27]Specific rights apply.
              [28]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [29]ASD at [30]NASA / [31]GSFC,
                         [32]NASA Science Activation
                           & [33]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2503/291_lorand_fenyes_m81_kicsi.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://fenyeslorand.hu/en/
   5. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-81/
   6. https://fenyeslorand.hu/m81/
   7. http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1070-ssc2003-06c-Spiral-Galaxy-Messier-81
   8. http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/Academics/Astr222/Galaxies/Spiral/spiral.html
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010112.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200515.html
  11. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1994ApJ...427..628F
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250326.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  16. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  21. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250327
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250328.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  26. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  29. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  32. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  33. http://www.mtu.edu/