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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 March 2   
      
                                Unraveling NGC 3169   
                Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby & Mark Hanson   
      
      Explanation: Spiral galaxy NGC 3169 looks to be unraveling like a ball   
      of cosmic yarn. It lies some 70 million light-years away, south of   
      bright star Regulus toward the faint constellation Sextans. Wound up   
      spiral arms are pulled out into sweeping tidal tails as NGC 3169 (left)   
      and neighboring NGC 3166 interact gravitationally. Eventually the   
      galaxies will merge into one, a common fate even for bright galaxies in   
      the local universe. Drawn out stellar arcs and plumes are clear   
      indications of the ongoing gravitational interactions across the deep   
      and colorful galaxy group photo. The telescopic frame spans about 20   
      arc minutes or about 400,000 light-years at the group's estimated   
      distance, and includes smaller, bluish NGC 3165 at the right. NGC 3169   
      is also known to shine across the spectrum from radio to X-rays,   
      harboring an active galactic nucleus that is the site of a supermassive   
      black hole.   
      
                        Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space   
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          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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