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Credit & Copyright: Tony Hallas
Explanation:
Barred spiral galaxy
NGC 2903 is
only some 20 million light-years distant.
Popular among amateur astronomers, it shines in the northern spring
constellation Leo, near
the top of the lion's head.
That part of the constellation is sometimes seen as a
reversed question mark or sickle.
One of the brighter galaxies visible from the northern hemisphere,
NGC 2903 is surprisingly
missing
from Charles Messier's catalog of lustrous celestial
sights.
This
colorful image from a small ground-based telescope
shows off the galaxy's gorgeous spiral arms traced by young,
blue star clusters and pinkish star forming regions.
Included are intriguing details of
NGC 2903's bright core,
a remarkable mix
of old and young clusters with immense dust and gas clouds.
In fact,
NGC 2903 exhibits an exceptional rate of
star
formation activity near its center, also bright in radio,
infrared, ultraviolet, and x-ray
bands.
Just a little smaller than our own Milky Way,
NGC 2903 is about 80,000 light-years across.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: NGC 2903 - barred spiral galaxy
Publications with words: NGC 2903 - barred spiral galaxy
See also: