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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2025 May 26

Explanation: What’s happening in the center of spiral galaxy NGC 2566? First, the eight rays that appear to be coming out of the center in the are not real — they are caused by the mechanical structure of the space telescope itself. The of NGC 2566 is bright but not considered unusual, which means that it likely contains a supermassive black hole, although currently . At only 76 million away, the light we see from NGC 2566 today left when the Earth. The picturesque galaxy is close enough so that , including and , can resolve the turbulent clouds of gas and dust where can form and so allows study of . NGC 2566, similar in size to our , is notable for its bright and its prominent outer spiral arms.

Authors & editors: () & ()
NASA Official: Amber Straughn .
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