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Astronomy Picture of the Day - NGC 4414: A Flocculent Spiral Galaxy
NASA ^ | 7 Apr, 2025 | Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, O. Graur, S. W. Jha, A. Filippenko

Posted on 04/07/2025 12:28:38 PM PDT by MtnClimber

Explanation: How much mass do flocculent spirals hide? The featured image of flocculent spiral galaxy NGC 4414 was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope to help answer this question. Flocculent spirals -- galaxies without well-defined spiral arms -- are a quite common form of galaxy, and NGC 4414 is one of the closest. Stars and gas near the visible edge of spiral galaxies orbit the center so fast that the gravity from a large amount of unseen dark matter must be present to hold them together. Understanding the matter and dark matter distribution of NGC 4414 helps humanity calibrate the rest of the galaxy and, by deduction, flocculent spirals in general. Further, calibrating the distance to NGC 4414 helps humanity calibrate the cosmological distance scale of the entire visible universe.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa
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 04/07/2025 12:28:38 PM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 04/07/2025 12:28:57 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; A Navy Vet; A_perfect_lady; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; ...
Pinging the APOD list

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔

3 posted on 04/07/2025 12:29:52 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Yeah, I hate it when I get flocculent on a galactic level...Never looks as good, tho...


4 posted on 04/07/2025 12:31:01 PM PDT by Adder (End fascism...defeat all Democrats.)
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To: MtnClimber

Do people in the southern hemisphere see these rotating clockwise?


5 posted on 04/07/2025 12:33:30 PM PDT by Track9 (Make haste slowly. )
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To: MtnClimber

Flocculent?

Try Pepto-Bismol.................


6 posted on 04/07/2025 12:34:02 PM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

That looks like Pepto-Bismol that ended up on the floor.


7 posted on 04/07/2025 12:37:01 PM PDT by ComputerGuy ( )
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To: Adder

Flocculent from Uranus? (rimshot)


8 posted on 04/07/2025 3:48:17 PM PDT by MoochPooch (I'm a compassionate cynic.)
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To: Adder

#4 It would explain all the gas clouds in space which later condenses into stars and planets and the cycle continues...


9 posted on 04/08/2025 10:11:42 AM PDT by minnesota_bound (Need more money to buy everything now)
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To: MtnClimber

Space Cowboy...

https://youtu.be/WOypE0DHeJc?list=RDWOypE0DHeJc


10 posted on 04/08/2025 10:19:10 AM PDT by sit-rep
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