The Best Bar None:
Just say "barred spiral galaxy" and the first image that comes to my mind is NGC 1300:
https://www.adamblockphotos.com/ngc-1300.htmlIt is quite simply *the* exemplar of the characteristics of its type. Go ahead, type "barred spiral galaxy" in google images and see what is returned! As such it has always been a galaxy I have sought to capture. In 2012 I started that campaign and collected significant data on it. However due to its low journey over the Arizonan horizon and through the lights of Tucson, this data languished on my storage drives because it suffered from many artifacts that I could not mend at the time. Fast forward 9 years later with improved tools and knowledge I gave it another go and now publish the image for the first time!
At 60 million light years away this galaxy is near enough to offer a wealth of delicate details including pink and blue star forming regions, thin dust lanes and of course its sensuous form. Its fame notwithstanding, it is a challenging target for any astrophotographer (just search Astrobin and see for yourself!) and I am pleased to finally have a completed image of it in my collection of galaxies.
Special thanks to Brian Valente who graciously supplied some additional color data from the southern hemisphere.
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