Fri 3rd of Jul 2026 UTC
Astronomy.co.uk Moon Phase Widget
Age: 18 days old
Phase: Waning Gibbous
Illumination: 88%
Distance: 393,909 km
from the NASA archive - 3rd July 2026

Some 190 million light-years away, far beyond the bright stars and nebulae of the Milky Way, these three galaxies are drawn together by gravity in a mesmerizing cosmic dance.

Clearly distorted by galactic-scale gravitational interactions, large spiral galaxies NGC6769 and NGC6770 are seen face-on, with luminous galactic disks scarred by obscuring interstellar dust lanes. Their young blue star clusters along drawn out spiral arms are spawned in star forming regions that result from collisions of massive molecular clouds. Below, spiral NGC6771 presents a more edge-on perspective, its boxy central bulge due to tidal star streams. Of course, in the distant future a merger of the three galaxies is inevitable. At the estimated distance of this galaxy trio, known to some as the Devil's Mask, the sharp telescopic frame spans over 300 thousand light-years within the boundaries of the far southern constellation Pavo.

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17th January 2022 at 16:33
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Astronomy.co.uk
16th January 2022 at 14:07
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5th January 2022 at 10:54
This is a small section of the Cygnus supernova blast wave which appears as a delicate streak of light. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, W. Blair; acknowledgment: Leo Shatz
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Astronomy.co.uk
4th January 2022 at 10:01
An exploding star ! Hubble
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Astronomy.co.uk
2nd January 2022 at 09:07
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1st January 2022 at 09:04
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Astronomy.co.uk
31st December 2021 at 11:25
Dolphin head nebula located near the center of the constellation Canis Major
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Astronomy.co.uk
30th December 2021 at 13:57
DEM L249, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, is an unusual supernova remnant. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Y. Chou (Academia Sinica, Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
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