NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Sep 13, 2023

NGC 4632: Galaxy with a Hidden Polar Ring

Galaxy NGC 4632 hides a secret from optical telescopes. It is surrounded by a ring of cool hydrogen gas orbiting at 90 degrees to its spiral disk. Such polar ring galaxies have previously been discovered using starlight. However, NGC 4632 is among the first in which a radio telescope survey revealed a polar ring. The featured composite image combines this gas ring, observed with the highly sensitive ASKAP telescope, with optical data from the Subaru telescope. Using virtual reality, astronomers separated out the gas in the main disk of the galaxy from the ring, and the subtle color gradient traces its orbital motion. Why do polar rings exist? They could be material pulled from one galaxy as it gravitationally interacts with a companion. Or hydrogen gas flows along the filaments of the cosmic web and accretes into a ring around a galaxy, some of which gravitationally contracts into stars.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?

Joining Jane Goodall in Conserving Chimpanzee Habitats

Sep 13, 2023

For decades, satellites have measured dramatic changes in the world's forests. These eyes in the sky provide timely information on environmental change and human activity in forests, especially in remote ones. The Jane Goodall Institute has been working with NASA and using Earth science satellite imagery and data in its chimpanzee and forest conservation efforts in Africa, particularly the Gombe region.

The observations and analyses from above aid Goodall's TACARE program – a community-led approach to conserving the environment while improving and enriching the lives of people who live nearby. Such efforts are crucial to protecting the planet's biodiversity and achieving sustainable human development of the landscape. Learn more in this video.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/joining-jane-goodall-in-conserving-chimpanzee-habitats

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPHtJLt_rz4

>>19543401