APOD: 2026 May 18 – Unraveling NGC 3169
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.
2026 May 18
Unraveling NGC 3169
Image Credit &
Copyright:
Simone Curzi
and the
ShaRA Team
Explanation:
Spiral galaxy NGC 3169 looks to be unraveling like a ball of cosmic
yarn.
It lies some 70 million light-years away,
south of
bright star Regulus toward the faint constellation Sextans.
Wound up spiral arms are pulled out into sweeping tidal
tails as NGC 3169 (left) and neighboring NGC 3166
interact
gravitationally.
Eventually the galaxies will merge into one,
a common fate even for bright galaxies in
the local universe.
Drawn out stellar arcs and plumes are clear
indications of the ongoing gravitational interactions
across the deep and colorful
galaxy group photo.
The telescopic frame
spans about 20 arc minutes or about 400,000 light-years
at the group’s estimated distance, and includes smaller,
bluish NGC 3165 to the right.
NGC 3169 is also known to shine across the spectrum from
radio to X-rays,
harboring
an active galactic nucleus that is the
site of a supermassive black hole.
Tomorrow’s picture: space angel
<
| Archive
| Submissions
| Index
| Search
| Calendar
| RSS
| Education
| About APOD
| Discuss
| >
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn
Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy,
Accessibility,
Notices;
A service of:
ASD at
NASA /
GSFC,