Posted on 12/22/2022 2:00:43 PM PST by MtnClimber
Explanation: Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is truly a majestic island universe some 200,000 light-years across. Located a mere 60 million light-years away toward the faint but heated constellation Fornax, NGC 1365 is a dominant member of the well-studied Fornax Cluster of galaxies. This impressively sharp color image shows the intense, reddish star forming regions near the ends of the galaxy's central bar and along its spiral arms. Seen in fine detail, obscuring dust lanes cut across the galaxy's bright core. At the core lies a supermassive black hole. Astronomers think NGC 1365's prominent bar plays a crucial role in the galaxy's evolution, drawing gas and dust into a star-forming maelstrom and ultimately feeding material into the central black hole.
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
I see they put up their Christmas lights.
I can almost see some planets around one star in that galaxy.
Below and to the left of galaxy center, within the spiral arm, is an almost perfect question mark. I can just see the wackos, soon posting “Clear Message From Outer Space!” And many caption contests. The first caption that comes to mind is ‘Quess What?’
Great picture! Thanks!
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