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.

                              2022 February 19
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                        Peculiar Galaxies of Arp 273
                Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Jason Guenzel

   Explanation: [5]The spiky stars in the foreground of this backyard
   [6]telescopic frame are well within our own [7]Milky Way Galaxy. But
   the two eye-catching galaxies lie far beyond the Milky Way, at a
   distance of over 300 million light-years. Their distorted appearance is
   due to gravitational tides as the pair engage in close encounters.
   Cataloged as Arp 273 (also as [8]UGC 1810), the galaxies do look
   [9]peculiar, but interacting galaxies are now understood to be common
   in the universe. Nearby, the large spiral Andromeda Galaxy is known to
   be some 2 million light-years away and approaching the Milky Way. The
   peculiar galaxies of Arp 273 may offer an analog of their [10]far
   future encounter. Repeated galaxy encounters on a [11]cosmic timescale
   can ultimately result in a merger into a single galaxy of stars. From
   our perspective, the bright cores of the Arp 273 galaxies are separated
   by only a little over 100,000 light-years.

                 Tomorrow's picture: aurora over white dome
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    Authors & editors: [23]Robert Nemiroff ([24]MTU) & [25]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([26]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [27]Specific rights apply.
              [28]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [29]ASD at [30]NASA / [31]GSFC
                           & [32]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2202/JasonGuenzelARP273.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.facebook.com/TheVastReaches
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121013.html
   6. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=891571145039234&set=a.640238843505800
   7. https://www.nasa.gov/jpl/charting-the-milky-way-from-the-inside-out
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201018.html
   9. http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Arp/frames.html
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/31may_andromeda/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060323.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220218.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  16. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  21. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220219
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220220.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  26. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  29. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  32. http://www.mtu.edu/