NGC 7331 and Beyond
Credit & Copyright: Don Goldman, Sierra Remote Observatories
Posted on 07/12/2008 5:45:46 AM PDT by sig226
Explanation: Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 7331 is often touted as an analog to our own Milky Way. About 50 million light-years distant in the northern constellation Pegasus, NGC 7331 was recognized early on as a spiral nebula and is actually one of the brighter galaxies not included in Charles Messier's famous 18th century catalog. Since the galaxy's disk is inclined to our line-of-sight, long telescopic exposures often result in an image that evokes a strong sense of depth. The effect is further enhanced in this well-framed view by the galaxies that lie beyond this gorgeous island universe. The background galaxies are about one tenth the apparent size of NGC 7331 and so lie roughly ten times farther away. Their strikingly close alignment on the sky with NGC 7331 occurs just by chance. The visual grouping of galaxies is also known as the Deer Lick Group.
Another Awesome picture!
The microsoft World Wide Telescope is cool.
nice
Somewhere in NGC 7331 there might be a Federal Government taking control of a failing mortgage bank.
Anything without a cross pattern is a galasy, amazing and fun...
Just lovely.
Nice sig, thanks for the ping, book me a flight.
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