A spiral galaxy with a tilted ring of stars and gas wraps around it like a twisted ribbon. The main disk of the galaxy is flat and dark, while the ring appears lighter and loops around it at an odd angle. Faint star clouds and dust lanes extend outward, set against the blackness of space.

📸 NGC 2685: The Helix Galaxy

📅 APOD – July 14, 2025
📷 Credit: Stefan Thrun

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A stunning image of NGC 660, a polar ring galaxy in the constellation Pisces, over 20 million light-years away. Its unique ring structure, almost perpendicular to its galactic disk, is believed to be the result of captured material from a passing galaxy. The image shows the galaxy amidst a scattered field of stars. The ring spans approximately 40,000 light-years.

Astronomy Picture from 03/12/2009

Polar Ring Galaxy NGC 660

Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091203.html


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Astronomy pic of the day!

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