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.

                              2023 September 25
    [2]A starfield with two bright stars at the top of the frame and two
   galaxies at the bottom. The upper galaxy is a spiral galaxy and has an
       appearance reminiscent of a hummingbird. The lower galaxy is a
     featureless elliptical galaxy. Please see the explanation for more
                            detailed information.

                       Arp 142: The Hummingbird Galaxy
       Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]Hubble, [6]HLA; Processing &
                      Copyright: [7]Basudeb Chakrabarti

   Explanation: What's happening to this spiral galaxy? Just a few hundred
   million years ago, NGC 2936, the upper of the two large [8]galaxies
   shown at the bottom, was likely a [9]normal spiral galaxy -- spinning,
   creating stars -- and minding its own business. But then it got too
   close to the [10]massive elliptical galaxy NGC 2937, just below, and
   took a turn. Sometimes dubbed the [11]Hummingbird Galaxy for its iconic
   shape, NGC 2936 is not only being deflected but also being distorted by
   the [12]close gravitational interaction. Behind filaments of dark
   [13]interstellar dust, bright blue stars form the nose of the
   hummingbird, while the center of the spiral appears as an eye.
   Alternatively, the galaxy pair, together known as [14]Arp 142, look to
   some like [15]Porpoise or a [16]penguin protecting an egg. The
   [17]featured re-processed image showing [18]Arp 142 in great detail was
   taken recently by the [19]Hubble Space Telescope. Arp 142 lies about
   300 million [20]light years away toward the constellation of the Water
   Snake ([21]Hydra). In a billion years or so the [22]two galaxies will
   likely merge into one larger galaxy.

                     Tomorrow's picture: big blue horse
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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]NASA Science Activation
                           & [44]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2309/Arp142_HubbleChakrabarti_2627.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://www.esa.int/
   5. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/about
   6. https://hla.stsci.edu/
   7. https://www.instagram.com/basudebchakrabarti_photography/
   8. https://www.instagram.com/p/CxHlYCyJKDR/
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130416.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120914.html
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird#/media/File:Ruby-Throated_Hummingbird.png
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211004.html
  13. https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/d/Dust+Grain
  14. https://esahubble.org/videos/heic1311a/
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porpoise
  16. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:African_Penguin_with_egg_(43841665775).jpg
  17. https://www.instagram.com/p/CxHlYCyJKDR/
  18. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AAS...22713511R/abstract
  19. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/about
  20. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/en/
  21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydra_(constellation)
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120604.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230924.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. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230925
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230926.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. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  44. http://www.mtu.edu/