                        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 November 25

                      NGC 6744: Extragalactic Close-Up
                 Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and the LEGUS team

   Explanation: Beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 6744 is nearly 175,000
   light-years across. That's larger than the Milky Way. It lies some 30
   million light-years distant in the southern constellation Pavo, with
   its galactic disk tilted towards our line of sight. This Hubble
   close-up of the nearby island universe spans about 24,000 light-years
   or so across NGC 6744's central region. The Hubble view combines
   visible light and ultraviolet image data. The giant galaxy's yellowish
   core is dominated by the visible light from old, cool stars. Beyond the
   core are star-forming regions and young star clusters scattered along
   the inner spiral arms. NGC 6744's young star clusters are bright at
   ultraviolet wavelengths, shown in blue and magenta hues. Spiky stars
   scattered around the frame are foreground stars and well within our own
   Milky Way.

                      Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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