Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Central Centaurus A

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 22, 2020 is “Central Centaurus A,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble Heritage ( STScI / AURA )-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. The original explanation runs about 132 words.

Central Centaurus A
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble Heritage ( STScI / AURA )-ESA/Hubble Collaboration Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“A mere 11 million light-years away, Centaurus A is the closest active galaxy to planet Earth. Also known as NGC 5128 , the peculiar elliptical galaxy is over 60,000 light-years across.”

— APOD editors, February 22, 2020

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
February 22, 2020
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble Heritage ( STScI / AURA )-ESA/Hubble Collaboration
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 132 words

All of February 2020 → · 2020 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: February 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.