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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.   
      
                                  2023 January 20   
      
                             Galaxy Wars: M81 and M82   
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Andreas Aufschnaiter   
      
      Explanation: The two dominant galaxies near center are far far away, 12   
      million light-years distant toward the northern constellation of the   
      Great Bear. On the right, with grand spiral arms and bright yellow core   
      is spiral galaxy M81. Also known as Bode's galaxy, M81 spans some   
      100,000 light-years. On the left is cigar-shaped irregular galaxy M82.   
      The pair have been locked in gravitational combat for a billion years.   
      Gravity from each galaxy has profoundly affected the other during a   
      series of cosmic close encounters. Their last go-round lasted about 100   
      million years and likely raised density waves rippling around M81,   
      resulting in the richness of M81's spiral arms. M82 was left with   
      violent star forming regions and colliding gas clouds so energetic that   
      the galaxy glows in X-rays. In the next few billion years, their   
      continuing gravitational encounters will result in a merger, and a   
      single galaxy will remain. This extragalactic scenario also includes   
      other members of the interacting M81 galaxy group with NGC 3077 below   
      and right of the large spiral, and NGC 2976 at upper right in the   
      frame. Captured under dark night skies in the Austrian Alps, the   
      foreground of the wide-field image is filled with integrated flux   
      nebulae. Those faint, dusty interstellar clouds reflect starlight above   
      the plane of our own Milky Way galaxy.   
      
                         Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend   
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          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
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