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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.   
      
                                  2026 January 14   
        A big spiral galaxy fills the frame, complete with blue spiral arms   
       dotted with red dust and nebulas. Above the spiral galaxy is another   
      more diffuse galaxy that has faint wisps extending in many directions.   
             Please see the explanation for more detailed information.   
      
                             M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy   
                     Image Credit & Copyright: Michael Sleeman   
      
      Explanation: The Whirlpool Galaxy is a classic spiral galaxy. At only   
      30 million light years distant and fully 60 thousand light years   
      across, M51, also known as NGC 5194, is one of the brightest and most   
      picturesque galaxies on the sky. The featured deep image is a digital   
      combination of images taken in different colors over 58 hours with a   
      telescope from Lijiang, China. Anyone with a good pair of binoculars,   
      however, can see this Whirlpool toward the constellation of the Hunting   
      Dogs (Canes Venatici). M51 is a spiral galaxy of type Sc and is the   
      dominant member of a whole group of galaxies. Astronomers speculate   
      that M51's spiral structure is primarily due to its gravitational   
      interaction with the smaller galaxy just above it.   
      
                          Tomorrow's picture: open space   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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