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Astronomy Picture of the Day - NGC 1232: A Grand Design Spiral Galaxy
NASA ^ | 1 Jan, 2024 | Image Credit: FORS, 8.2-meter VLT Antu, ESO

Posted on 01/01/2024 2:00:35 PM PST by MtnClimber

Explanation: Galaxies are fascinating not only for what is visible, but for what is invisible. Grand spiral galaxy NGC 1232, captured in detail by one of the Very Large Telescopes, is a good example. The visible is dominated by millions of bright stars and dark dust, caught up in a gravitational swirl of spiral arms revolving about the center. Open clusters containing bright blue stars can be seen sprinkled along these spiral arms, while dark lanes of dense interstellar dust can be seen sprinkled between them. Less visible, but detectable, are billions of dim normal stars and vast tracts of interstellar gas, together wielding such high mass that they dominate the dynamics of the inner galaxy. Leading theories indicate that even greater amounts of matter are invisible, in a form we don't yet know. This pervasive dark matter is postulated, in part, to explain the motions of the visible matter in the outer regions of galaxies.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; galaxy; nasa; spiralgalaxy
To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail).

For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.

1 posted on 01/01/2024 2:00:35 PM PST by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 01/01/2024 2:00:56 PM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; Agatsu77; America_Right; ...
Pinging the APOD list.

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔


3 posted on 01/01/2024 2:01:29 PM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Looks just like the pictures of our galaxy!! (hehehe)


4 posted on 01/01/2024 2:07:57 PM PST by enumerated (81 million votes my ass)
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To: MtnClimber

Wow.


5 posted on 01/01/2024 3:11:11 PM PST by No name given (Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: MtnClimber

Nice!


6 posted on 01/01/2024 3:16:57 PM PST by telescope115 (I NEED MY SPACE!!! 🔭)
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To: MtnClimber
Design your own spiral galaxy!


7 posted on 01/01/2024 5:08:31 PM PST by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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