保护地球，探索宇宙，发现文明
2022年10月6日 NGC 4631: The Whale Galaxy Image Credit & Copyright: Michael Sherick Explanation: NGC 4631 is a big beautiful spiral galaxy. Seen edge-on, it lies only 25 million light-years away in the well-trained northern constellation Canes Venatici. The galaxy’s slightly distorted wedge shape suggests to some a cosmic herring and to others its pop...
2022年9月22日 NGC 7331 Close Up Image Credit & License: ESA/Hubble & NASA/D. Milisavljevic (Purdue University) Explanation: Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 7331 is often touted as an analog to our own Milky Way. About 50 million light-years distant in the northern constellation Pegasus, NGC 7331 was recognized early on as a spiral nebula and is actua...
2022年9月2日 M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy Image Credit & Copyright: Fabian Neyer Explanation: Find the Big Dipper and follow the handle away from the dipper’s bowl until you get to the last bright star. Then, just slide your telescope a little south and west and you’ll come upon this stunning pair of interacting galaxies, the 51st entry in Charles...
2022年7月31日 Starburst Galaxy M94 from Hubble Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA Explanation: Why does this galaxy have a ring of bright blue stars? Beautiful island universe Messier 94 lies a mere 15 million light-years distant in the northern constellation of the Hunting Dogs (Canes Venatici). A popular target for Earth-based astronomers, the face-on spira...
2022年6月23日 Spiral Galaxy NGC 6744 Image Credit & Copyright: Basudeb Chakrabarti Explanation: Beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 6744 is nearly 175,000 light-years across, larger than our own Milky Way. It lies some 30 million light-years distant in the southern constellation Pavo but appears as only a faint, extended object in small telescopes. We see the disk...
2022年5月26日 NGC 4565: Galaxy on Edge Image Credit & Copyright: Michael Sherick Explanation: Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on from planet Earth. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop on many telescopic tours of the northern sky, in the faint but well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. This...
2022年5月5日 NGC 3521: Galaxy in a Bubble Image Credit & Copyright: Mark Hanson and Mike Selby Explanation: Gorgeous spiral galaxy NGC 3521 is a mere 35 million light-years away, toward the northern springtime constellation Leo. Relatively bright in planet Earth’s sky, NGC 3521 is easily visible in small telescopes but often overlooked by amateur ima...
2022年4月29日 Portrait of NGC 3628 Image Credit & Copyright: Wilhelm Michael Kasakow, Olaf Guillaume Explanation: Sharp telescopic views of NGC 3628 show a puffy galactic disk divided by dark dust lanes. Of course, this portrait of the magnificent, edge-on spiral galaxy puts some astronomers in mind of its popular moniker, the Hamburger Galaxy. It also rev...
2022年4月23日 Messier 104 Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Legacy Archive; Processing & Copyright: Ignacio Diaz Bobillo Explanation: A gorgeous spiral galaxy, Messier 104 is famous for its nearly edge-on profile featuring a broad ring of obscuring dust lanes. Seen in silhouette against an extensive central bulge of stars, the swath of cosmic dust lends a br...
2022年4月14日 Messier 96 Image Credit & Copyright: Mark Hanson and Mike Selby Explanation: Spiral arms seem to swirl around the core of Messier 96 in this colorful, detailed portrait of a beautiful island universe. Of course M96 is a spiral galaxy, and counting the faint arms extending beyond the brighter central region it spans 100 thousand light-years or...