Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Fornax (For)  ·  Contains:  NGC 1365
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The Great Barred Spiral Galaxy of Fornax, NGC 1365, Paul Lloyd
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The Great Barred Spiral Galaxy of Fornax, NGC 1365

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Great Barred Spiral Galaxy of Fornax, NGC 1365, Paul Lloyd
Powered byPixInsight

The Great Barred Spiral Galaxy of Fornax, NGC 1365

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Description

NGC 1365 is a member of the Fornax Galaxy Cluster and lies 75 Mly away. It is a huge
galaxy, extending to 300,000 ly across, i.e. about 3x the size of our Milky Way Galaxy.
Its rotation speed has been determined at 350 My. Astronomers postulate that the prominent
bar plays an important role in the galaxy’s evolution, drawing gas and dust into a star-
forming turmoil. Infra-red astronomy has revealed that the main bar comprises two separate
bars, the second one not extending as far from the centre of the galaxy as the main, visible
one. The existence of the second bar is thought to arise from instabilities within the galaxy
centre. It rotates more rapidly than the main, visible bar.

Note: I have cropped the original frame to improve the size of the galaxy.


Telescope: William Optics FLT110 refractor + 2x barlow, f=1540mm
Camera:     ZWO ASI294MC Pro, 26 x 600 sec, no filter
                    Bortle 3-4 sky, moonless (after moonset)
Field of View: approx. 0º 28’ x 0º 20’
Image processed and prepared in PixInsight and Photoshop Elements

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The Great Barred Spiral Galaxy of Fornax, NGC 1365, Paul Lloyd