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2025 Charles Lillo 2025 Charles Lillo

NGC 1365 – The Great Barred Spiral of Fornax

NGC 1365, often called the Great Barred Spiral Galaxy, lies about 56 million light-years away in the constellation Fornax. Spanning over 200,000 light-years, this galaxy is a classic barred spiral, showcasing sweeping arms and a prominent central bar filled with stars and dust lanes. Star-forming regions glow pink along the spiral arms, while young blue star clusters trace the galaxy's graceful curves.

Captured from Tivoli Astrofarm in Namibia, this deep image highlights the galaxy's intricate dust structure and faint outer extensions against a rich background of distant galaxies. NGC 1365 is also an important laboratory for studying galactic dynamics and supermassive black holes, as it hosts an active nucleus at its core. Its stunning symmetry and vivid detail make it one of the most photogenic galaxies in the southern sky.

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