Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                               2019 November 6
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                              21st Century M101
    Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]CXC, [6]JPL - [7]Caltech, [8]STScI

   Explanation: One of the last entries in [9]Charles Messier's famous
   catalog, big, beautiful spiral galaxy M101 is definitely not [10]one of
   the least. About 170,000 light-years across, [11]this galaxy is
   enormous, almost twice the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy. [12]M101
   was also one of the original spiral nebulae observed with Lord Rosse's
   large 19th century telescope, the [13]Leviathan of Parsonstown. In
   contrast, [14]this multiwavelength view of the large [15]island
   universe is a composite of images recorded by space-based telescopes in
   the 21st century. Color coded from X-rays to infrared [16]wavelengths
   (high to low energies), the image data was taken from the [17]Chandra
   X-ray Observatory (purple), the [18]Galaxy Evolution Explorer (blue),
   [19]Hubble Space Telescope(yellow), and the [20]Spitzer Space
   Telescope(red). While the X-ray data trace the location of multimillion
   degree gas around M101's exploded stars and neutron star and black hole
   binary star systems, the lower energy data follow the stars and dust
   that define M101's grand spiral arms. Also known as the [21]Pinwheel
   Galaxy, M101 lies within the boundaries of the northern constellation
   [22]Ursa Major, about 25 million light-years away.

                  Tomorrow's picture: The Titan's daughters
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    Authors & editors: [34]Robert Nemiroff ([35]MTU) & [36]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([37]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [38]Specific rights apply.
              [39]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [40]ASD at [41]NASA / [42]GSFC
                           & [43]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1911/M101_nasaMultiW.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. http://www.esa.int/esaCP/index.html
   5. http://chandra.harvard.edu/
   6. http://spitzer.caltech.edu/
   7. http://www.galex.caltech.edu/
   8. http://hubblesite.org/
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000311.html
  10. http://messier.seds.org/m/m102d.html
  11. http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/10/
  12. http://messier.seds.org/more/m101_rosse.html
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan_of_Parsonstown
  14. http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/5163-sig12-005-A-Pinwheel-Galaxy-Rainbow
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080124.html
  16. http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/multiwavelength_astronomy/multiwavelength_astronomy/index.html
  17. http://chandra.si.edu/about/axaf_mission.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120518.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101013.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100410.html
  21. http://messier.seds.org/m/m101.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060317.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191105.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  32. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=191106
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191107.html
  34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  36. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  37. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  40. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  43. http://www.mtu.edu/