Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

NGC 1309: A Useful Spiral Galaxy

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 18, 2025 is “NGC 1309: A Useful Spiral Galaxy,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble ; Processing: L. Galbany , S. Jha, K. Noll, A. Riess. The original explanation runs about 141 words.

A large spiral galaxy appears with stars in the foreground and smaller galaxies far in the background. The picturesque spiral has dark dust lanes between blue arms. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble ; Processing: L. Galbany , S. Jha, K. Noll, A. Riess Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“This galaxy is not only pretty — it’s useful. A gorgeous spiral some 100 million light-years distant, NGC 1309 lies on the banks of the constellation of the River ( Eridanus ).”

— APOD editors, August 18, 2025

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
August 18, 2025
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble ; Processing: L. Galbany , S. Jha, K. Noll, A. Riess
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 141 words

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Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: August 18 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.