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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.   
      
                                 2021 December 18   
      
                                 Stephan's Quintet   
                  Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Legacy Archive;   
                      Processing & Copyright: Bernard Miller   
      
      Explanation: The first identified compact galaxy group, Stephan's   
      Quintet is featured in this eye-catching image constructed with data   
      drawn from the extensive Hubble Legacy Archive. About 300 million   
      light-years away, only four of these five galaxies are actually locked   
      in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters. The odd man out is easy   
      to spot, though. The interacting galaxies, NGC 7319, 7318A, 7318B, and   
      7317 have an overall yellowish cast. They also tend to have distorted   
      loops and tails, grown under the influence of disruptive gravitational   
      tides. But the predominantly bluish galaxy, NGC 7320, is closer, just   
      40 million light-years distant, and isn't part of the interacting   
      group. Stephan's Quintet lies within the boundaries of the high flying   
      constellation Pegasus. At the estimated distance of the quartet of   
      interacting galaxies, this field of view spans about 500,000   
      light-years. But moving just beyond this field, up and to the right,   
      astronomers can identify another galaxy, NGC 7320C, that is also 300   
      million light-years distant. Including it would bring the interacting   
      quartet back up to quintet status.   
      
                         Tomorrow's picture: five in a row   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
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                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
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