Barred spiral galaxy (NGC 3079)
Barred spiral galaxy (NGC 3079), optical image. This galaxy (bright object at upper left) lies around 50 million light years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It has spiral arms and a central bar, like our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and at 70,000 light years in diameter is just slightly smaller. Its core is thought to be an explosive centre of activity due to stellar winds from massive stars.
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