![Request for Information – Potential [Placeholder for Prize]](https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/psd/solar/2023/09/s/solarsystem_0.jpg?w=1024)
APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Spiral Galaxy NGC 1672 from Hubble
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 1672, pictured above , was captured in spectacular detail in image taken by 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 1672 , which spans about 75,000 light years across. NGC 1672 , which appears toward the constellation of the Dolphinfish ( Dorado ), is being studied to find out how a spiral bar contributes to star formation in a galaxy's central regions.
Follow APOD: On Facebook or Google+
| Date | May 13, 2012 |
|---|---|
| Credit |
Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble Heritage Team ( STScI / AURA ) Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: L. Jenkins ( GSFC / U. Leicester ) |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |