                        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.

                                2024 April 18

                               Facing NGC 1232
                    Image Credit & Copyright: Neil Corke

   Explanation: From our vantage point in the Milky Way Galaxy, we see NGC
   1232 face-on. Nearly 200,000 light-years across, the big, beautiful
   spiral galaxy is located some 47 million light-years away in the
   flowing southern constellation of Eridanus. This sharp, multi-color,
   telescopic image of NGC 1232 includes remarkable details of the distant
   island universe. From the core outward, the galaxy's colors change from
   the yellowish light of old stars in the center to young blue star
   clusters and reddish star forming regions along the grand, sweeping
   spiral arms. NGC 1232's apparent, small, barred-spiral companion galaxy
   is cataloged as NGC 1232A. Distance estimates place it much farther
   though, around 300 million light-years away, and unlikely to be
   interacting with NGC 1232. Of course, the prominent bright star with
   the spiky appearance is much closer than NGC 1232 and lies well within
   our own Milky Way.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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