Multiwavelength View of NGC 1300 (ALMA, VLT)

Extended Description

Face-on barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300. Its glow is the brightest at a small point in the center, but the glow emanates outward in a flat American football-like shape, the galaxy’s bar. Tendrils of dark brown dust extend through these regions, like veins. The galaxy’s two spiral arms contain brightly lit clumps of orange, pink, and blue. The spiral arms each start at the end of the bar. The first emerges near 3 o’clock and extends toward the edge of the right side before curving up and all the way to the left, ending off the frame at left. The second arm, which starts at 9 o’clock from the bar, extends left almost to the edge of the frame, turns down, and extends off the right edge of the frame. Together, the arms and bar form a backward S shape. Both the top and bottom of the two spiral arms appear to be split into multiple lanes, with orange, pink, and blue appearing toward the fattest parts of the arms at top and bottom. There are thinner lanes between the core of the galaxy and these more distant arms. There are smaller areas of orange at the bottom center. There are also smaller areas of blue and pink at top right that transform into thicker bright pink and orange blobs at left.

Image Alt Text

Face-on barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300. It has a very bright white core, and two very fat pink, orange, and blue spiral arms that start at the core. The first wraps to the right, top, and all the way across to the left. The second starts at the core and wraps all the way to the left, bottom, and then all the way across to the right.