Hubble captures detailed image of barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672

Many spiral galaxies contain a bar structure that crosses through the center. This photo is of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672, which is clearly visible in a high-resolution image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The photo shows a dark filament-shaped dust lane, a bright cluster of young blue stars, a glowing red emission nebula of ionized hydrogen gas, a long bright bar crossing the center, and a bright, active nucleus that is believed to harbor a supermassive black hole. Light from NGC 1672 takes about 60 million years to reach us, and this galaxy spans approximately 75,000 light-years (1 light-year is the distance light travels in one year, about 9.46 trillion kilometers). Located in the direction of the Dorado constellation, NGC 1672 is being used to study how the bar structure of spiral galaxies contributes to star formation in the galactic center.