March 6, 2010
The plane of our Milky Way Galaxy runs right
through
Auriga, the Charioteer.
A good part of the ancient northern constellation’s
rich collection of nebulae and star clusters is featured in
this expansive, 10 degree wide skyscape.
Bright star
Elnath
lies near the bottom right,
linking Auriga to another constellation, Taurus, the Bull.
Three open star clusters, Charles Messier’s
M36,
M37, and
M38 line [...]
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March 5, 2010
Magnificent spiral galaxy
NGC 4565
is viewed edge-on from planet Earth.
Also known as the Needle Galaxy
for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop
on many telescopic tours of the northern sky,
in the faint but well-groomed
constellation Coma
Berenices.
This
sharp, colorful image reveals the galaxy’s bulging central core
cut by obscuring dust lanes that lace
NGC 4565’s thin [...]
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