Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Stephan's Quintet

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 25, 2012 is “Stephan's Quintet,” an image. It is credited to Image Data: Hubble Legacy Archive , ESA , NASA ; Processing: Al Kelly. The original explanation runs about 182 words.

Stephan's Quintet
Credit: Image Data: Hubble Legacy Archive , ESA , NASA ; Processing: Al Kelly Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“The first identified compact galaxy group, Stephan’s Quintet is featured in this eye-catching image constructed with data drawn from the extensive Hubble Legacy Archive . About 300 million light-years away, only four of these five galaxies are actually locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters.”

— APOD editors, February 25, 2012

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
February 25, 2012
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Data: Hubble Legacy Archive , ESA , NASA ; Processing: Al Kelly
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 182 words

All of February 2012 → · 2012 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

GalaxiesHubble Space Telescope

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

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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.