NGC 1532 is a massive barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Eridanus, seen here nearly edge-on. Its flattened disk stretches across the frame, marked by a bright central bulge, dark dust lanes, and faint bluish regions tracing spiral arms rich in young stars. The edge-on perspective emphasizes the galaxy’s impressive size, spanning well over 100,000 light-years, and reveals subtle vertical structure within the disk shaped by gravity and rotation.

Just above the main disk lies NGC 1531, a smaller companion galaxy whose distorted shape betrays a strong gravitational interaction. Tidal forces between the two systems are triggering star formation and warping NGC 1532’s spiral structure, effects that will continue to evolve over hundreds of millions of years. Scattered throughout the background are countless distant galaxies, adding depth and context to this dynamic scene within the Eridanus galaxy group.

NGC 1532 is a most unusual and beautiful galaxy. It is an edge-on barred spiral about 58 million light years away in the constellation of Eridanus.