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. 2021 March 27 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Exploring the Antennae Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Bernard Miller Explanation: Some 60 million light-years away in the southerly [5]constellation Corvus, two large galaxies are colliding. Stars in the two galaxies, cataloged as [6]NGC 4038 and NGC 4039, very rarely collide in the course of the ponderous cataclysm that lasts for hundreds of millions of years. But the galaxies' large [7]clouds of molecular gas and dust often do, triggering [8]furious episodes of star formationi near the center of the [9]cosmic wreckage. Spanning over 500 thousand light-years, this stunning view also reveals new star clusters and matter flung far from the scene of the accident by [10]gravitational tidal forces. The [11]remarkably sharp ground-based image includes narrowband data that highlights the characteristic red glow of atomic hydrogen gas in [12]star-forming regions. The suggestive overall visual appearance of the extended arcing structures gives the galaxy pair its popular name - The Antennae. Tomorrow's picture: floating away __________________________________________________________________ [13]< | [14]Archive | [15]Submissions | [16]Index | [17]Search | [18]Calendar | [19]RSS | [20]Education | [21]About APOD | [22]Discuss | [23]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell ([27]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [28]Specific rights apply. [29]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [30]ASD at [31]NASA / [32]GSFC & [33]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2103/C60-61_PS2_CROP_FULL.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. http://azstarman.net/CDK/index.html 5. http://hawastsoc.org/deepsky/crv/index.html 6. http://spider.seds.org/spider/Misc/n4038-9.html 7. https://arxiv.org/abs/1909.05240 8. https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2006/46/1995-Image.html 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120604.html 10. https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/t/Tidal+Tails 11. http://azstarman.net/CDK/NGC4038.htm 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210129.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210326.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 17. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 22. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=210327 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210328.html 24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 27. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 29. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 30. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 31. https://www.nasa.gov/ 32. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 33. http://www.mtu.edu/