Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Galaxy Wars: M81 versus M82

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 7, 2025 is “Galaxy Wars: M81 versus M82,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Collaborative Astrophotography Team (CAT)). The original explanation runs about 163 words.

Two large galaxies are shown against a dark starfield. The galaxy on the upper left has blue spiral arms speckled with red nebulae. The galaxy on the lower right has a white line with red filaments on each side. Thin wisps cover some of the
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Collaborative Astrophotography Team (CAT) Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“In the upper left corner, surrounded by blue arms and dotted with red nebulas, is spiral galaxy M81 . In the lower right corner, marked by a light central line and surrounded by red glowing gas, is irregular galaxy M82 .”

— APOD editors, May 7, 2025

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
May 7, 2025
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Collaborative Astrophotography Team (CAT)
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

NebulaeGalaxies

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.