Explanation:
This wide,
sharp
telescopic view reveals
galaxies
scattered beyond the stars at the northern boundary of the
high-flying constellation
Pegasus.
Prominent at the upper right is
NGC 7331.
A mere 50 million light-years away, the large spiral is one
of the brighter galaxies not included in
Charles Messier's famous 18th century catalog.
The disturbed looking group of galaxies
at the lower left is
well-known as Stephan's Quintet.
About 300 million light-years distant, the quintet
dramatically illustrates a multiple galaxy collision, its
powerful, ongoing
interactions posed for a brief cosmic snapshot.
On the sky, the
quintet and
NGC 7331 are separated by about half a degree.
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