Posted on 05/20/2014 4:19:50 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: M61 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. Visible in M61 are a host of features common to spiral galaxies: bright spiral arms, a central bar, dust lanes, and bright knots of stars. M61, also known as NGC 4303, in similar to our own Milky Way Galaxy. M61 was discovered by telescope in 1779 twice on the same day, but one observer initially mistook the galaxy for a comet. Light from M61 takes about 55 million years to reach us. The above image of the central regions of M61 was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope and adapted for release as part of the Hubble's Hidden Treasures image processing competition.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA; Acknowledgements: G. Chapdelaine & L. Limatola]
Oooo....
Ahhhhhhhh!
Nice one! :-)
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19)
The area about 7 o’clock, about halfway out from the center, looks promising for life....
Yeah...but only for another 50 million years or so. A mere tick on the ol' Cosmotron.
Shiny! Diamonds in the sky without Lucy.
Ooooh and it makes me wonder if some other galaxy has a planet like Earth
and they’re looking at the Milky Way, seeing it as it was 55 million years ago.
Hello out there! We have made some improvements lately!
Just an awesome photo. Love these posts. They remind me why I liked astronomy as a kid.
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