Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2026 May 17 [2]The featured image shows a the big beautiful barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300 with encompassing spiral arms tinted blue from young stars. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. NGC 1300: Barred Spiral Galaxy Image Credit: [3]NASA [4]ESA, [5]Hubble Heritage Explanation: Across the center of this spiral galaxy is a [6]bar. And at the center of this bar is smaller [7]spiral. And at the center of that spiral is a [8]supermassive black hole. This all happens in the big, beautiful, [9]barred spiral galaxy cataloged as NGC 1300, a galaxy that lies some 70 million light-years away toward the [10]constellation of the river Eridanus. This [11]Hubble Space Telescope composite [12]view of the gorgeous [13]island universe is one of the [14]most detailed Hubble images ever made of a complete galaxy. [15]NGC 1300 spans over 100,000 [16]light-years and the Hubble image reveals striking details of the galaxy's dominant central bar and majestic spiral arms. How the giant bar formed, how it remains, and how it affects [17]star formation remains an [18]active topic of research. Jigsaw Universe: [19]Astronomy Puzzle of the Day Tomorrow's picture: spiral unraveling __________________________________________________________________ [20]< | [21]Archive | [22]Submissions | [23]Index | [24]Search | [25]Calendar | [26]RSS | [27]Education | [28]About APOD | [29]Discuss | [30]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [31]Robert Nemiroff ([32]MTU) & [33]Jerry Bonnell ([34]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [35]Specific rights apply. [36]NASA Web Privacy, [37]Accessibility, [38]Notices; A service of: [39]ASD at [40]NASA / [41]GSFC, [42]NASA Science Activation & [43]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/NGC1300_HST_6637.jpg 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://www.esa.int/ 5. https://www.nasa.gov/stem-content/the-hubble-heritage-project/ 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barred_spiral_galaxy#Bars 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080517.html 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241124.html 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barred_spiral_galaxy 10. https://noirlab.edu/public/education/constellations/eridanus/ 11. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/ 12. https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2005/01/1636-Image.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200426.html 14. https://peopleimages.com/image/zoomgate/3040965 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_1300 16. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/en/ 17. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/ 18. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021MNRAS.502.2238M/abstract 19. https://www.scigames.org/apps/webjigsaw2/index.php 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260516.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 26. https://apod.com/feed.rss 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 29. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260517 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260518.html 31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 33. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 34. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 36. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 37. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 38. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 39. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 40. https://www.nasa.gov/ 41. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 42. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 43. http://www.mtu.edu/