Galaxies

Checked out Astronomy Picture of the Day today. They had this cool picture of a galaxy up.

This galaxy is called M81 and it's one of the brightest galaxies in our sky.

The accompanying information was mostly about the little section up top that doesn't appear to be behaving the same way as the rest of the galaxy. It's called "Arp's Loop".

What was most interesting to me looking at this image was my reaction to it. I've seen images of galaxies millions of times throughout my life and never once thought about why they look the way they do. Looking at it now I know why the core is bright and why it's shaped the way it is. I know what's happening in the arms and in the core. These are thing I never thought of before. It's odd to me the things we take for granted.