Astronomy Picture of the Day · December 16, 2004

The Arms of NGC 7424

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 16, 2004 is “The Arms of NGC 7424,” an image. It is credited to Credit: VIMOS / VLT , European Southern Observatory. The original explanation runs about 122 words.

From the explanation

“The grand , winding arms are almost mesmerizing in this face-on view of NGC 7424, a spiral galaxy with a prominent central bar . About 40 million light-years distant in the headlong constellation Grus , this island universe is also about 100,000 light-years across making it remarkably similar to our own Milky Way .”

— APOD editors, December 16, 2004

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: December 16, 2004
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: VIMOS / VLT , European Southern Observatory
Copyright: No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 122 words

All of December 2004 → · 2004 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The Milky Way Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 16 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, December 16, 2004 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2004-december-16-the-arms-of-ngc-7424

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.