Astronomy Picture of the Day - NGC 1566: The Spanish Dancer Galaxy

NASA ^ | 16 Mar, 2026 | Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Calzetti & the LEGUS Team, R. Chandar

[MtnClimber]

Explanation: If not perfect, then this spiral galaxy is at least one of the most photogenic. An island universe containing billions of stars and situated about 40 million light-years away toward the constellation of the Dolphinfish (Dorado), NGC 1566 presents a gorgeous face-on view. Classified as a grand design spiral, NGC 1566 shows two prominent and graceful spiral arms that are traced by bright blue star clusters, red emission nebulas, and dark cosmic dust lanes. Numerous Hubble Space Telescope images of NGC 1566 have been taken to study star formation, supernovas, and the spiral's unusually active center. NGC 1566's flaring center makes the spiral one of the closest and brightest Seyfert galaxies, likely housing a central supermassive black hole wreaking havoc on surrounding stars and gas.

[MtnClimber]

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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.

[MtnClimber]

[MtnClimber]

Pinging the APOD list

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔

[ComputerGuy]

Looks like a hot little number.

[No name given]

Wow.

[fidelis]

"An island universe containing billions of stars..."

And that's just one galaxy out of an estimated 2 trillion. Think about that.

[MtnClimber]

And that's just one galaxy out of an estimated 2 trillion. Think about that.

And each galaxy may have billions of stars and even more planets. I think about that all the time.

[AFB-XYZ]

Coochie coochie! — Charo. (Second only to Raquel Welch in my Gallery of the Unattainable). :-)

[telescope115]

Beautiful.

[Larry Lucido]

Muy picante!

[rfp1234]

https://youtu.be/_i47DYkAJR8

[Iron Munro]

It’s overwhelming to contemplate the fact that every dot or speck of light is probably at the very least a complete planetary system.

And then think of how many more exist there that do not happen to be illuminated in this picture.

[Colt1851Navy]

I was looking for a picture of Rita Hayworth, 10 of 10’s.

[Deaf and Discerning]

[SkyDancer]

Nice one. There has to be several solar systems in there.

[Thrushbough]

Thank you.

[MikelTackNailer]

Or as I think of it, God’s hobby: the Celestial Spyrograph.