Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Thu Mar 06 2025 00:21:00

                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                                2025 March 6

                         Starburst Galaxy Messier 94
                      Image Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA

   Explanation: Beautiful island universe Messier 94 lies a mere 15
   million light-years distant in the northern constellation of the
   hunting dogs, Canes Venatici. A popular target for earth-based
   astronomers, the face-on spiral galaxy is about 30,000 light-years
   across, with spiral arms sweeping through the outskirts of its broad
   disk. But this Hubble Space Telescope field of view spans about 7,000
   light-years or so across M94's central region. The sharp close-up
   examines the galaxy's compact, bright nucleus and prominent inner dust
   lanes, surrounded by a remarkable bluish ring of young, massive stars.
   The massive stars in the ring appear to be less than about 10 million
   years old, indicating the galaxy experienced a corresponding
   well-defined era of rapid star formation. As a result, while the small,
   bright nucleus is typical of the Seyfert class of active galaxies, M94
   is also known as a starburst galaxy. Because M94 is relatively nearby,
   astronomers can explore in detail reasons for the galaxy's burst of
   star formation.

                       Today's Coverage: Moon Landing
                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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