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| The nearby galaxy M74, for a sufficiently broad definition of "nearby". |
A) Because we think 300,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilometers is “nearby”.
It’s really true. Case in point: the nearby face-on spiral galaxy M74:
I know, right? It’s gorgeous! And at 32 million light years away, it’s actually fairly close as galaxies go. There are many closer, but few displayed so wonderfully for us to see.
I love spiral galaxies. It’s a combination of their symmetry, the pattern, the colors, and the simple majestic beauty. M74 is an example of all of these characteristics. It has a simple 2-armed structure, each apparently unwinding from the center, splaying out at the galaxy’s edge. There are numerous spurs; short straight branches which stick out from the main arms. These add to the pinwheel-like look of the galaxy, too.
For the rest of the story: http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/01/26/spiral_galaxy_m74_the_perfection_of_a_nearby_galaxy.html
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