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Credit & Copyright: SSRO-South  
(R.Gilbert,D.Goldman,J.Harvey,D.Verschatse) -  
PROMPT (D.Reichart)  
  
  
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  
chemical constellation  
Fornax,  
NGC 1365 is a dominant  
member of the well-studied  
Fornax  
galaxy cluster.  
  
This impressively  
sharp color image shows intense  
star forming regions at the ends of the bar and along the  
spiral arms, as well as details of dust lanes cutting  
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.  
  
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: NGC 1365 - barred spiral galaxy
Publications with words: NGC 1365 - barred spiral galaxy
See also:
