Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                                2022 March 17
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                                 Centaurus A
              Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]David Alemazkour

   Explanation: A mere 11 million light-years away, [5]Centaurus A is the
   closest [6]active galaxy to planet Earth. Spanning over 60,000
   light-years, the peculiar elliptical galaxy also known [7]as NGC 5128,
   is featured in this sharp telescopic view. [8]Centaurus A is apparently
   the result of a collision of two otherwise normal galaxies resulting in
   a fantastic jumble of star clusters and imposing dark dust lanes.
   [9]Near the galaxy's center, leftover cosmic debris is steadily being
   consumed by a [10]central black hole with a billion times the mass of
   the Sun. As in other active galaxies, that process likely generates the
   enormous radio, X-ray, and [11]gamma-ray energy radiated by
   [12]Centaurus A.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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    Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([27]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [28]Specific rights apply.
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                A service of: [30]ASD at [31]NASA / [32]GSFC
                           & [33]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2203/CentaurusA_DavidAlemazkour.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. mailto: dalemazkour [at] hotmail [dot]
   5. http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/Centaurus.html
   6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_galactic_nucleus
   7. http://messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/n5128.html
   8. https://esahubble.org/videos/heic1110a/
   9. https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2011/news-2011-18.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210804.html
  11. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasas-fermi-mission-finds-hints-of-gamma-ray-cycle-in-an-active-galaxy
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080110.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220316.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  17. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  22. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220317
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220318.html
  24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  27. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  30. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  33. http://www.mtu.edu/