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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 29   
      
                            NGC 2442: Galaxy in Volans   
                       Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby   
      
      Explanation: Distorted galaxy NGC 2442 can be found in the southern   
      constellation of the flying fish, (Piscis) Volans. Located about 50   
      million light-years away, the galaxy's two spiral arms extending from a   
      pronounced central bar give it a hook-shaped appearance in this deep   
      and colorful image, with foreground stars scattered across the   
      telescopic field of view. The image also reveals the distant galaxy's   
      obscuring dust lanes, young blue star clusters and reddish star forming   
      regions surrounding a core of yellowish light from an older population   
      of stars. But the star forming regions seem more concentrated along the   
      drawn-out (upper right) spiral arm. The distorted structure is likely   
      the result of an ancient close encounter with a smaller galaxy that   
      lies off top left of the frame. This telescopic field of view spans   
      over 200,000 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 2442.   
      
                           Tomorrow's picture: stardust   
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