Discover the cosmosEach day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Explanation:Peculiarspiral galaxy Arp 78 is found within the boundaries of the head strongconstellation Aries.
Some 100 million light-years beyond the stars and nebulae of our Milky Way galaxy, the island universe is an enormous 200,000 light-years across.
Also known as NGC 772, it sports a prominent, outer spiral arm inthis detailed cosmic portrait.
Tracking along sweeping dust lanes andlined withyoung blue star clusters, Arp 78’s overdeveloped spiral arm ispumped-upby galactic-scale gravitational tides.
Interactions with its brightest companion galaxy, the more compact NGC 770 seen directly below the larger spiral, are likely responsible.
Embedded in faint star streams revealed in the deep telescopic exposure, NGC 770’s fuzzy, elliptical appearance contrasts nicely with spiky foreground Milky Way stars.
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