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.

                                 2020 June 4

                            Portrait of NGC 3628
   Image Credit & Copyright: Stefano Cancelli (1963-2020), Paul Mortfield

   Explanation: Sharp telescopic views of NGC 3628 show a puffy galactic
   disk divided by dark dust lanes. Of course, this deep portrait of the
   magnificent, edge-on spiral galaxy puts some astronomers in mind of its
   popular moniker, the Hamburger Galaxy. It also reveals a small galaxy
   nearby, likely a satellite of NGC 3628, and a faint but extensive tidal
   tail. The drawn out tail stretches for about 300,000 light-years, even
   beyond the right edge of the wide frame. NGC 3628 shares its
   neighborhood in the local universe with two other large spirals M65 and
   M66 in a grouping otherwise known as the Leo Triplet. Gravitational
   interactions with its cosmic neighbors are likely responsible for
   creating the tidal tail, as well as the extended flare and warp of this
   spiral's disk. The tantalizing island universe itself is about 100,000
   light-years across and 35 million light-years away in the northern
   springtime constellation Leo.

                    Tomorrow's picture: dragons 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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