                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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 April 14

                            Portrait of NGC 3628
      Image Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby & Mark Hanson

   Explanation: Sharp telescopic views of NGC 3628 show a puffy galactic
   disk divided by dark dust lanes. Of course, this portrait of the
   magnificent, edge-on spiral galaxy puts some astronomers in mind of its
   popular moniker, the Hamburger Galaxy. It also reveals a small galaxy
   nearby (below), likely a satellite of NGC 3628, and a very faint but
   extensive tidal tail. The drawn out tail stretches for about 300,000
   light-years, even beyond the left edge of the frame. NGC 3628 shares
   its neighborhood in the local universe with two other large spirals M65
   and M66 in a grouping otherwise known as the Leo Triplet. Gravitational
   interactions with its cosmic neighbors are likely responsible for
   creating the tidal tail, as well as the extended flare and warp of this
   spiral's disk. The tantalizing island universe itself is about 100,000
   light-years across and 35 million light-years away in the northern
   springtime constellation Leo.

                      Tomorrow's picture: Z is for Mars
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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