Galaxy Wars: M81 And M82

Galaxy Wars: M81 and M82 

These two galaxies are far far away, 12 million light-years distant toward the northern constellation of the Great Bear. On the left, with grand spiral arms and bright yellow core is spiral galaxy M81, some 100,000 light-years across. On the right marked by red gas and dust clouds, is irregular galaxy M82. The pair have been locked in gravitational combat for a billion years. Their last go-round lasted about 100 million years and likely raised density waves rippling around M81, resulting in the richness of M81's spiral arms. M82 was left with violent star forming regions and colliding gas clouds so energetic the galaxy glows in X-rays. In the next few billion years, their continuing gravitational encounters will result in a merger, and a single galaxy will remain.

Image Credit & Copyright: Dietmar Hager, Torsten Grossmann

WISE helps map the beautiful spiral arms of our galaxy Milky Way.

WISE mission – NASA

Credit : NASA/Twitter

Also known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades lies about 400 light years away toward the constellation of Taurus (Bull).

Picture Credit & Copyright: Stanislav Volskiy

Source: apod.nasa.gov

Crab Nebula, zoomed in.

Majestic Godzilla galaxy or UGC 2885, 2.5 million times wider than our home galaxy Milky Way, with one trillion stars in its crib, captured by Hubble

Source : NASA&Hubble

Our sun is entering into a sleepy state of inactivity— a recurring phenomenon known as Solar Minimum.

A period of minimal solar activity, during which the surface solar movement diminishes, resulting in a trough in solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CME) activities. Though it is a period of (relative) calm for the otherwise seething ball of energy, it doesn't hold any consequence(s) for us, as Earthlings. Sun, as we know it, will remain the same.