February 26, 2022
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us, and yet here you are — a collection of atoms that somehow learned to think, to...
Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 4945
Birthday · February 26, 2022
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APOD published February 26, 2022. Credit: Dietmar Hager. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Large spiral galaxy NGC 4945 is seen nearly edge-on in this cosmic galaxy close-up. It's almost the size of our Milky Way Galaxy. NGC 4945's own dusty disk, young blue star clusters, and pink star forming regions stand out in the colorful telescopic frame. About 13 million light-years distant toward the expansive southern constellation Centaurus, NGC 4945 is only about six times farther away than Andromeda, the nearest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way. Though this galaxy's central region is largely hidden from view for optical telescopes, X-ray and infrared observations indicate significant high energy emission and star formation in the core of NGC 4945. Its obscured but active nucleus qualifies the gorgeous island universe as a Seyfert galaxy and home to a central supermassive black hole.
Image credit: Dietmar Hager