images

Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 in Fornax

by

ESO/Novapix

Reference

a-gax13-65001

Date

2006-09-09

NGC 1365 is one of the most prominent "barred" galaxies in the sky. It is a supergiant galaxy with a diameter of about 200,000 light-years, seen in the direction of the southern constellation Fornax. It is a major member of the Fornax Cluster of Galaxies. The distance is about 60 million light-years. A massive straight bar runs through this galaxy and contains the nucleus at the centre. It consists mostly of older stars that give a reddish colour to the bar.The gravitational perturbation from the bar causes interstellar gas and dust clouds to form a pair of spiral arms that extend from the ends of the bar. Young luminous hot stars, born out of the interstellar clouds, give these arms a prominent appearance and a blue colour. The bar and spiral pattern rotates clockwise, as seen from us. One full turn takes about 350 million years. Image combined from three exposures with the FORS1 multi-mode instrument at VLT UT1, ANTU.