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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 7

Explanation: In the upper left corner, surrounded by blue arms and dotted with red nebulas, is spiral galaxy . In the lower right corner, marked by a light central line and surrounded by red glowing gas, is irregular galaxy . This shows these two mammoth galaxies locked in , as they have been for the past billion years. The gravity from each galaxy the other during each hundred-million-year pass. Last go-round, 's gravity likely raised density waves rippling around , resulting in the richness of 's spiral arms. But M81 left with violent star forming regions and colliding gas clouds so energetic the galaxy . This big battle is through the faint glow of an , a little studied complex of diffuse gas and dust clouds in our . In a few billion years, only one galaxy .

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