Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

NGC 1300: Barred Spiral Galaxy

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 17, 2026 is “NGC 1300: Barred Spiral Galaxy,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: NASA ESA , Hubble Heritage. The original explanation runs about 142 words.

The featured image shows a the big beautiful barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300 with encompassing spiral arms tinted blue from young stars. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
Credit: Image Credit: NASA ESA , Hubble Heritage Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Across the center of this spiral galaxy is a bar . And at the center of this bar is smaller spiral .”

— APOD editors, May 17, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
May 17, 2026
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: NASA ESA , Hubble Heritage
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 142 words

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Topics in this entry

GalaxiesHubble Space Telescope

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: May 17 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.