                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2026 January 29

                         NGC 2442: Galaxy in Volans
                    Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby

   Explanation: Distorted galaxy NGC 2442 can be found in the southern
   constellation of the flying fish, (Piscis) Volans. Located about 50
   million light-years away, the galaxy's two spiral arms extending from a
   pronounced central bar give it a hook-shaped appearance in this deep
   and colorful image, with foreground stars scattered across the
   telescopic field of view. The image also reveals the distant galaxy's
   obscuring dust lanes, young blue star clusters and reddish star forming
   regions surrounding a core of yellowish light from an older population
   of stars. But the star forming regions seem more concentrated along the
   drawn-out (upper right) spiral arm. The distorted structure is likely
   the result of an ancient close encounter with a smaller galaxy that
   lies off top left of the frame. This telescopic field of view spans
   over 200,000 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 2442.

                        Tomorrow's picture: stardust
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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