Astronomy Picture of the Day——NGC 7331特写

NGC 7331 Close Up 
Image Credit & License: ESA/Hubble & NASA/D. Milisavljevic (Purdue University)

Explanation: Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 7331 is often touted as an analog to our own Milky Way. About 50 million light-years distant in the northern constellation Pegasus, NGC 7331 was recognized early on as a spiral nebula and is actually one of the brighter galaxies not included in Charles Messier's famous 18th century catalog. Since the galaxy's disk is inclined to our line-of-sight, long telescopic exposures often result in an image that evokes a strong sense of depth. This Hubble Space Telescope close-up spans some 40,000 light-years. The galaxy's magnificent spiral arms feature dark obscuring dust lanes, bright bluish clusters of massive young stars, and the telltale reddish glow of active star forming regions. The bright yellowish central regions harbor populations of older, cooler stars. Like the Milky Way, a supermassive black hole lies at the core of spiral galaxy NGC 7331.

NGC 7331的特写

美丽而巨大的旋涡星系NGC 7331经常被拿来与银河系对比。NGC 7331位于北天的飞马座，距离地球5000万光年，曾被认为是旋涡星云。虽然它是一个非常明亮的星系，但却并未被收入著名的梅西耶星云星团表中。这个星系盘对着地球的方向倾斜，长时间曝光的照片给人一种深邃的感觉。在这张哈勃望远镜拍摄的特写照片中, 星系壮观的旋臂与暗黑的尘埃带、明亮蓝色的大质量年轻恒星星团，以及红色的活动恒星生成区交织在一起。较老和较冷的恒星则聚集在偏黄色的明亮中心区域。如同银河系一样，NGC 7331的核心是一个超大质量黑洞。

NASA

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