Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

M64: The Sleeping Beauty Galaxy

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for June 12, 2011 is “M64: The Sleeping Beauty Galaxy,” an image. It is credited to Credit: NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team ( AURA / STScI ), S. Smartt ( IoA ) & D. Richstone ( U. Michigan ) et al.. The original explanation runs about 123 words.

M64: The Sleeping Beauty Galaxy
Credit: NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team ( AURA / STScI ), S. Smartt ( IoA ) & D. Richstone ( U. Michigan ) et al. Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the 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 gas in the outer regions of this photogenic spiral is rotating in the opposite direction from all of the stars!”

— APOD editors, June 12, 2011

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
June 12, 2011
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team ( AURA / STScI ), S. Smartt ( IoA ) & D. Richstone ( U. Michigan ) et al.
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 123 words

All of June 2011 → · 2011 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: June 12 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.