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.

                               2020 January 16
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                             NGC 247 and Friends
   Image Credit & [3]Copyright: Acquisition - [4]Eric Benson, Processing -
                              [5]Dietmar Hager

   Explanation: About 70,000 light-years across, [6]NGC 247 is a spiral
   galaxy smaller than our Milky Way. [7]Measured to be only 11 million
   light-years distant it is nearby though. Tilted nearly edge-on as seen
   [8]from our perspective, it dominates this telescopic field of view
   toward the southern constellation Cetus. The pronounced void on one
   side of the galaxy's disk recalls for some its popular name, the
   Needle's Eye galaxy. Many background galaxies are visible in this sharp
   galaxy portrait, including the remarkable string of four galaxies just
   below and left of NGC 247 known as Burbidge's Chain. Burbidge's Chain
   galaxies are about 300 million light-years distant. NGC 247 itself is
   part of the Sculptor Group of galaxies along with the [9]shiny spiral
   NGC 253.

                        Tomorrow's picture: in stereo
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    Authors & editors: [21]Robert Nemiroff ([22]MTU) & [23]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([24]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [25]Specific rights apply.
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                A service of: [27]ASD at [28]NASA / [29]GSFC
                           & [30]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2001/NGC247hager.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. http://www.faintgalaxy.com/
   5. https://www.facebook.com/StargazerObservatory/
   6. https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1107/
   7. https://arxiv.org/abs/0905.2699
   8. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/stars-galaxies/
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180322.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200115.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  14. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  19. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=200116
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200117.html
  21. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  24. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  26. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  27. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  30. http://www.mtu.edu/