Last updated on December 8th, 2022 at 02:24 pm
Photo of the day: rare double-barred spiral galaxy
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has published a magnificent image of the spiral galaxy NGC 1365, located about 56 million light-years away in the Fornax constellation.
Barred spiral galaxies are characterized by the presence of a “bar” of bright stars that emerges from the center and crosses the structure in the middle. Observations show that approximately two-thirds of spiral galaxies are barred.
NGC 1365 stands out for the fact that it contains two bars at once, which is a very rare occurrence. They are believed to be due to the combined action of the galaxy’s rotation and complex stellar dynamics.
It is noted that the larger stellar bar is too large to fit in the presented photograph: it connects its outer spiral branches to the center of the galaxy. The photo shows a much smaller second jumper, which is located inside the main one.
The image was taken with the MUSE (Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) spectrograph, which is installed at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile.
