Image: Messier 81 HST

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Description: The spiral galaxy Messier 81 is tilted at an oblique angle on to our line of sight, giving a "birds-eye view" of the spiral structure. The galaxy is similar to our Milky Way, but our favorable view provides a better picture of the typical architecture of spiral galaxies. Though the galaxy is 11.6 million light-years away, NASA Hubble Space Telescope's view is so sharp that it can resolve individual stars, along with open star clusters, globular star clusters, and even glowing regions of fluorescent gas.
Title: Messier 81 HST
Credit: http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic0710a/ (very high quality ([cdn.spacetelescope.org/archives/images/screen//heic0710a.jpg JPEG file] 346 MB) http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2007/19/image/a/ (direct link)
Author: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No

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