NGC 1365: Majestic
Spiral with Supernova
From NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
From NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is
truly a majestic island
universe some 200,000 light-years across.
Located a mere 60
million light-years away toward the chemical constellation Fornax, NGC 1365 is
a dominant member of the well-studied Fornax galaxy
cluster.
This sharp color image
shows intense star forming regions at the ends of the bar and along the spiral
arms, and details of dust lanes cutting across the galaxy's bright core.
At the core lies a
supermassive black hole. Astronomers think NGC 1365's prominent bar plays a
crucial role in the galaxy's
evolution, drawing gas and dust into a star-forming maelstrom and
ultimately feeding material into the central black
hole.
Discovered on October
27, the position of a bright supernova is indicated in NGC 1365. Cataloged as SN2012fr, the type Ia supernova is
the explosion of a white dwarf star.
