Astronomy Picture of the Day
Posted By admin On January 13, 2011 @ 6:12 pm In Photo Essays | Comments Disabled
[1]
NGC 3521 Close Up
Credit: Data – Hubble Legacy Archive [2], ESA [3], NASA [4] Processing – Robert Gendler [5]
Explanation: Gorgeous spiral galaxy NGC 3521 is a mere 35 million light-years distant, toward the constellation Leo [6]. Spanning some 50,000 light-years, its central region is shown in this dramatic image [7], constructed from data drawn from the Hubble Legacy Archive [2]. The close-up view highlights this galaxy’s characteristic [8] multiple, patchy, irregular spiral arms laced with dust and clusters of young, blue stars. In constrast [9], many other spirals exhibit grand, sweeping arms. A relatively bright galaxy in planet Earth’s sky, NGC 3521 is [10] easily visible in small telescopes, but often overlooked by amateur imagers in favor of other Leo spiral galaxies, like M66 and M65 [11].
Article printed from Recorder Online: http://www.berthoudrecorder.com
URL to article: http://www.berthoudrecorder.com/2011/01/13/astronomy-picture-of-the-day/
URLs in this post:
[1] Image: http://www.berthoudrecorder.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/NGC3521_hstGendlerL.jpg
[2] Hubble Legacy Archive: http://hla.stsci.edu/
[3] ESA: http://www.esa.int/
[4] NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/
[5] Robert Gendler: http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/
[6] constellation Leo: http://www.universetoday.com/21173/leo/
[7] this dramatic image: http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/NGC3521-HST-Gendler.html
[8] characteristic: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1982MNRAS.201.1021E
[9] In constrast: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap101209.html
[10] NGC 3521 is: http://www.astrosurf.com/antilhue/ngc3521.htm
[11] M66 and M65: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060309.html
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