Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

NGC 4676: When Mice Collide

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 4, 2021 is “NGC 4676: When Mice Collide,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit: NASA , ESA, Hubble ; Processing & Copyright: William Ostling ( The Astronomy Enthusiast )). The original explanation runs about 163 words.

The picture shows a Hubble image of colliding galaxies NGC 4676 known as the Mice for their long stellar tails. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA, Hubble ; Processing & Copyright: William Ostling ( The Astronomy Enthusiast ) Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“These two mighty galaxies are pulling each other apart. Known as the “ Mice ” because they have such long tails, each spiral galaxy has likely already passed through the other.”

— APOD editors, October 4, 2021

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
October 4, 2021
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA, Hubble ; Processing & Copyright: William Ostling ( The Astronomy Enthusiast )
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 163 words

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Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: October 4 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.