Barred Spiral Galaxy, NGC 1313

This image of nearby spiral galaxy NGC1313 was taken with the National Science Foundation’s Blanco 4-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. NGC1313 is a late-type barred spiral galaxy. In visible light, NGC1313 appears dominated by scattered regions of star formation, giving it a rather ragged appearance. The clouds of bluish stars look to have burst into existence at random, without the normal trigger of gravitational interaction or even distinct spiral processes to prompt them. Deep images show that the outer parts of galaxy are also very disturbed. When observed at radio wavelengths, the galaxy is found to be rich in hydrogen, the raw material of stars. The gas circulates around the center of the galaxy in a well-ordered way, as opposed to its irregular appearance in visible light. NGC1313 is located about 15 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Reticulum.