Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

M77: Spiral Galaxy with an Active Center

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 2, 2025 is “M77: Spiral Galaxy with an Active Center,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: Hubble , NASA , ESA , L. C. Ho , D. Thilker. The original explanation runs about 146 words.

A big beautiful sprawling spiral galaxy is shown. The galaxy has well defined spiral arms with bright blue star clusters and dark red dust. The center is a bright white. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
Credit: Image Credit: Hubble , NASA , ESA , L. C. Ho , D. Thilker Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“What’s happening in the center of nearby spiral galaxy M77? The face-on galaxy lies a mere 47 million light-years away toward the constellation of the Sea Monster ( Cetus ).”

— APOD editors, December 2, 2025

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 2, 2025
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: Hubble , NASA , ESA , L. C. Ho , D. Thilker
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 146 words

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Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 2 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.