                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

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

                                  2019 May 29
                                      [2]
                    M95: Spiral Galaxy with an Inner Ring
    Image Credit: NASA [3] , ESA [4] , Hubble [5] , ESO [6] , Amateur Data;
      Processing & Copyright: Robert Gendler [7]  & Roberto Colombari [8]

Explanation: Why do some spiral galaxies have a ring around the center? First
and foremost, M95 [9]  is one of the closer examples of a big and beautiful
barred spiral galaxy [10] . Visible in the featured combination [11]  of
images from Hubble [12] and several ground based telescopes are sprawling
spiral arms delineated by open clusters [13]  of bright blue stars [14] ,
lanes of dark dust, the diffuse glow of billions of faint stars, and a short
bar [15]  across the galaxy center. What intrigues many astronomers, however,
is the circumnuclear ring [16] around the galaxy center visible just outside
the central bar. Although the long term stability of this ring [17]  remains a
topic of research [18] , observations indicate its present brightness is at
least enhanced by transient bursts of star formation. M95 [19] , also known as
NGC 3351, spans about 50,000 light-years [20] , lies about 30 million light
years away, and can be seen with a small telescope [21]  toward the
constellation of the Lion (Leo [22] ).

                Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator [23]
                        Tomorrow's picture: open space

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    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [35] (MTU [36] ) & Jerry Bonnell [37]
                                  (UMCP [38] )
          NASA Official:  Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [39] .
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              A service of: ASD [41]  at NASA [42]  / GSFC [43]
                           & Michigan Tech. U. [44]
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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1905/M95_HstEsoGendler_1800.jpg
  [3] https://www.nasa.gov
  [4] https://www.esa.int/
  [5] https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/story/index.html
  [6] https://www.eso.org/
  [7] http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/
  [8] https://www.facebook.com/roberto.colombari
  [9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_95
  [10] http://cas.sdss.org/dr6/en/proj/basic/galaxies/spirals.asp
  [11] http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/M95-HST-ESO.html
  [12] https://www.spacetelescope.org/about/
  [13] open_clusters.html
  [14] ap180212.html
  [15] ap181009.html
  [16] ap170710.html
  [17] http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006ApJ...647.1030S
  [18] http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019A%26A...621L...4G
  [19] https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/messier-95
  [20] http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html
  [21] http://1funny.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/dog-telescope.jpg
  [22] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_(constellation)
  [23] https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/random_apod.html
  [24] ap190528.html
  [25] archivepix.html
  [26] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [27] lib/aptree.html
  [28] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  [29] calendar/allyears.html
  [30] /apod.rss
  [31] lib/edlinks.html
  [32] lib/about_apod.html
  [33] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=190529
  [34] ap190530.html
  [35] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [36] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [37] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  [38] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [39] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [40] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  [41] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [42] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [43] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [44] http://www.mtu.edu/
