NGC 1300 is one of the most beautiful barred spiral galaxies in the universe. It consists of a long bar of mainly older stars across its middle, with dramatic spiral arms, which contain many young stars, spinning off the bar’s ends. The galaxy, shown here in a Hubble Space Telescope image, is about 20 million light-years away, in the constellation Eridanus. [NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)]
Find out more in our radio program entitled Barred Spirals.