Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 6217

Explanation: Many spiral galaxies have bars across their centers. Even our own Milky Way Galaxy is thought to have a modest central bar . Prominently barred spiral galaxy NGC 6217, pictured above , was captured in spectacular detail in this recently released image taken by the newly repaired Advanced Camera for Surveys on the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope . Visible are dark filamentary dust lanes , young clusters of bright blue stars, red emission nebulas of glowing hydrogen gas, a long bright bar of stars across the center, and a bright active nucleus that likely houses a supermassive black hole . Light takes about 60 million years to reach us from NGC 6217 , which spans about 30,000 light years across and can be found toward the constellation of the Little Bear ( Ursa Minor ).

Note: An APOD editor will review great space images on 2010 Jan. 14 in Houghton, Michigan.