Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

The Magnetic Fields of Spiral Galaxy M77

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 16, 2019 is “The Magnetic Fields of Spiral Galaxy M77,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: NASA , SOFIA , HAWC+ ; JPL-Caltech , Roma Tre. U. ; ESA , Hubble , NuSTAR , SDSS. The original explanation runs about 143 words.

The Magnetic Fields of Spiral Galaxy M77
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , SOFIA , HAWC+ ; JPL-Caltech , Roma Tre. U. ; ESA , Hubble , NuSTAR , SDSS Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Can magnetic fields help tell us how spiral galaxies form and evolve? To find out, the HAWC+ instrument on NASA’s airborne ( 747 ) SOFIA observatory observed nearby spiral galaxy M77 .”

— APOD editors, December 16, 2019

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 16, 2019
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , SOFIA , HAWC+ ; JPL-Caltech , Roma Tre. U. ; ESA , Hubble , NuSTAR , SDSS
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 143 words

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Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 16 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.