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                           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.   
      
                                   2025 March 27   
      
                                    Messier 81   
                      Image Credit & Copyright: Lorand Fenyes   
      
      Explanation: One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky is   
      similar in size to our Milky Way Galaxy: big, beautiful Messier 81.   
      Also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's galaxy for its 18th century   
      discoverer, this grand spiral can be found toward the northern   
      constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The sharp, detailed   
      telescopic view reveals M81's bright yellow nucleus, blue spiral arms,   
      pinkish starforming regions, and sweeping cosmic dust lanes. But some   
      dust lanes actually run through the galactic disk (left of center),   
      contrary to other prominent spiral features. The errant dust lanes may   
      be the lingering result of a close encounter between M81 and the nearby   
      galaxy M82 lurking outside of this frame. Scrutiny of variable stars in   
      M81 has yielded a well-determined distance for an external galaxy --   
      11.8 million light-years.   
      
                        Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space   
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          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
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