                        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 July 1

                           Three Galaxies in Draco
     Image Credit & Copyright: David Vernet , Jean-François Bax , Serge
                              Brunier, OCA/C2PU

   Explanation: This tantalizing trio of galaxies sometimes called the
   Draco Group, is located in the northern constellation of (you guessed
   it) Draco, the Dragon. From left to right are face-on spiral NGC 5985,
   elliptical galaxy NGC 5982, and edge-on spiral NGC 5981, all found
   within this single telescopic field of view that spans a little more
   than the width of the full moon. While the group is far too small to be
   a galaxy cluster, and has not been catalogued as a compact galaxy
   group, the three galaxies all do lie roughly 100 million light-years
   from planet Earth. Not as well known as other tight groupings of
   galaxies, the contrast in visual appearance still makes this triplet an
   attractive subject for astroimagers. On close examination with
   spectrographs, the bright core of striking spiral NGC 5985 shows
   prominent emission in specific wavelengths of light, prompting
   astronomers to classify it as a Seyfert, a type of active galaxy. This
   impressively deep exposure hints at a faint dim halo along with
   sharp-edged shells surrounding elliptical NGC 5982, evidence of past
   galactic mergers. It also reveals many even more distant background
   galaxies.

                     Tomorrow's picture: over and under
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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