NGC 1365: A Nearby Barred Spiral Galaxy August 9, 2003 Many
spiral galaxies have bars across their centers. Even our own
Milky Way Galaxy is thought to have a bar, but perhaps not so
prominent as the one in NGC 1365, shown above. The persistence
and motion of the bar imply relatively massive spiral arms. The
placements of bright young blue stars and dark dust lanes also
indicate a strong rotating density wave of star formation. NGC
1365 is a member of the Fornax Cluster of Galaxies. Because NGC
1365 is relatively nearby, simultaneous measurements of its
speed and distance are possible, which help astronomers estimate
how fast our universe is expanding. Topics: Extragalactic
astronomy, Barred spiral galaxies, Astronomy, Fornax Cluster of
Galaxies, Fornax constellation, Large-scale structure of the
cosmos, NGC, Eridanus constellation, Ring galaxies, Galaxy,
Milky Way, Spiral galaxies