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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 December 11   
      
                               Galaxies in the River   
                      Image Credit & Copyright: Vikas Chander   
      
      Explanation: Large galaxies grow by eating small ones. Even our own   
      galaxy engages in a sort of galactic cannibalism, absorbing small   
      galaxies that are too close and are captured by the Milky Way's   
      gravity. In fact, the practice is common in the universe and   
      illustrated by this striking pair of interacting galaxies from the   
      banks of the southern constellation Eridanus, The River. Located over   
      50 million light years away, the large, distorted spiral NGC 1532 is   
      seen locked in a gravitational struggle with dwarf galaxy NGC 1531, a   
      struggle the smaller galaxy will eventually lose. Seen nearly edge-on,   
      in this sharp image spiral NGC 1532 spans about 100,000 light-years.   
      The NGC 1532/1531 pair is thought to be similar to the well-studied   
      system of face-on spiral and small companion known as M51.   
      
                           Tomorrow's picture: fox fires   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
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