Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

M64: The Sleeping Beauty Galaxy

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for March 22, 1997 is “M64: The Sleeping Beauty Galaxy,” an image. It is credited to M64: The Sleeping Beauty Galaxy Credit: W. Keel (U. Alabama in Tuscaloosa). The original explanation runs about 114 words.

M64: The Sleeping Beauty Galaxy
Credit: M64: The Sleeping Beauty Galaxy Credit: W. Keel (U. Alabama in Tuscaloosa) Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Explanation : The Sleeping Beauty galaxy may appear peaceful at first sight but it is actually tossing and turning. In an unexpected twist, recent observations have shown that the center of this photogenic galaxy is rotating in the opposite direction than the outer regions!”

— APOD editors, March 22, 1997

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
March 22, 1997
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: M64: The Sleeping Beauty Galaxy Credit: W. Keel (U. Alabama in Tuscaloosa)
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 114 words

All of March 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: March 22 in other years

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Source

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.