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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 July 1   
      
                              Three Galaxies in Draco   
        Image Credit & Copyright: David Vernet , Jean-Fran+ºois Bax , Serge   
                                 Brunier, OCA/C2PU   
      
      Explanation: This tantalizing trio of galaxies sometimes called the   
      Draco Group, is located in the northern constellation of (you guessed   
      it) Draco, the Dragon. From left to right are face-on spiral NGC 5985,   
      elliptical galaxy NGC 5982, and edge-on spiral NGC 5981, all found   
      within this single telescopic field of view that spans a little more   
      than the width of the full moon. While the group is far too small to be   
      a galaxy cluster, and has not been catalogued as a compact galaxy   
      group, the three galaxies all do lie roughly 100 million light-years   
      from planet Earth. Not as well known as other tight groupings of   
      galaxies, the contrast in visual appearance still makes this triplet an   
      attractive subject for astroimagers. On close examination with   
      spectrographs, the bright core of striking spiral NGC 5985 shows   
      prominent emission in specific wavelengths of light, prompting   
      astronomers to classify it as a Seyfert, a type of active galaxy. This   
      impressively deep exposure hints at a faint dim halo along with   
      sharp-edged shells surrounding elliptical NGC 5982, evidence of past   
      galactic mergers. It also reveals many even more distant background   
      galaxies.   
      
                        Tomorrow's picture: over and under   
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          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
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