September 20, 2000
When you were born, the Sun rose on a world that had never seen you before. Since then, every dawn has arrived in a universe subtly altered...
Gangly Spiral Galaxy NGC 3184
Birthday · September 20, 2000
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APOD published September 20, 2000. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
NGC 3184 is a large spiral galaxy with a small nucleus and long sprawling spiral arms. Although NGC 3184 contains hundreds of billions of stars, the blue color of its spiral arms comes mostly from relatively few bright young blue stars. The galaxy is not empty of matter between these spiral arms -- the bright stars that highlight the arms were created in huge density waves that circle the center. Visible with a small telescope towards the constellation of Ursa Major, light takes about 25 million years to reach us from NGC 3184, and about 50,000 years just to cross it. NGC 3184 (Hubble type Sbc) is notable for its high abundance of heavy elements and a supernova that has occurred there recently.