Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Pisces (Psc)  ·  Contains:  M 74  ·  NGC 628
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Spiral galaxy, M74 ( NGC 628), Steven Bellavia
Spiral galaxy, M74 ( NGC 628)
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Spiral galaxy, M74 ( NGC 628)

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Spiral galaxy, M74 ( NGC 628), Steven Bellavia
Spiral galaxy, M74 ( NGC 628)
Powered byPixInsight

Spiral galaxy, M74 ( NGC 628)

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Description

M74, (NGC 628), is a face-on spiral galaxy in the constellation Pisces. It is at a distance of about 32 million light-years away from Earth. The galaxy contains

two clearly defined spiral arms and is therefore used as an archetypal example of a grand design spiral galaxy. The galaxy's low surface brightness makes it the

most difficult Messier object for amateur astronomers to observe. However, the relatively large angular size of the galaxy and the galaxy's face-on orientation

make it an ideal object for professional astronomers who want to study spiral arm structure and spiral density waves. It is estimated that M74 is home to about

100 billion stars

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Spiral galaxy, M74 ( NGC 628), Steven Bellavia

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