                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                               2022 January 29

                       The Fornax Cluster of Galaxies
        Image Credit & Copyright: Marco Lorenzi, Angus Lau, Tommy Tse

   Explanation: Named for the southern constellation toward which most of
   its galaxies can be found, the Fornax Cluster is one of the closest
   clusters of galaxies. About 62 million light-years away, it is almost
   20 times more distant than our neighboring Andromeda Galaxy, and only
   about 10 percent farther than the better known and more populated Virgo
   Galaxy Cluster. Seen across this two degree wide field-of-view, almost
   every yellowish splotch on the image is an elliptical galaxy in the
   Fornax cluster. Elliptical galaxies NGC 1399 and NGC 1404 are the
   dominant, bright cluster members toward the upper left (but not the
   spiky foreground stars). A standout barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is
   visible on the lower right as a prominent Fornax cluster member.

                    Tomorrow's picture: miasma of plasma
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