Astronomy Picture of the Day · February 23, 1997

Cartwheel of Fortune

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 23, 1997 is “Cartwheel of Fortune,” an image. It is credited to Cartwheel of Fortune Credit: Kirk Borne (STScI), NASA. The original explanation runs about 183 words.

From the explanation

“Explanation : By chance, a collision of two galaxies has created a surprisingly recognizable shape on a cosmic scale – “The Cartwheel Galaxy” . The Cartwheel is part of a group of galaxies about 500 million light years away in the constellation of Sculptor (two smaller galaxies in the group are visible on the right).”

— APOD editors, February 23, 1997

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: February 23, 1997
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: Cartwheel of Fortune Credit: Kirk Borne (STScI), NASA
Copyright: No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 183 words

All of February 1997 → · 1997 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: February 23 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, February 23, 1997 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-1997-february-23-cartwheel-of-fortune

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.