Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Peculiar Elliptical Galaxy Centaurus A

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for March 30, 2026 is “Peculiar Elliptical Galaxy Centaurus A,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: SADR Observatory Team: J-C Dalouzy , P. Bazart, M. Dherbécourt, C. Humbert, G. Leroy, J-P Quéau, H. Talbot, & E. Valin). The original explanation runs about 163 words.

A starfield glows faintly with red glowing gas and dust. In the center there is some sort of unusual galaxy with a red jet emanating toward the upper right and a dark dust lane through its center. Please see the explanation for more detaile
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: SADR Observatory Team: J-C Dalouzy , P. Bazart, M. Dherbécourt, C. Humbert, G. Leroy, J-P Quéau, H. Talbot, & E. Valin Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“What’s happened to the center of this galaxy? Dramatic dust lanes run across the center of unusual elliptical galaxy Centaurus A .”

— APOD editors, March 30, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
March 30, 2026
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: SADR Observatory Team: J-C Dalouzy , P. Bazart, M. Dherbécourt, C. Humbert, G. Leroy, J-P Quéau, H. Talbot, & E. Valin
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 163 words

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Galaxies

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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.