Spiral Galaxy NGC 1350
This gorgeous island universe lies about 85 million light-years
distant in the southern
constellation
Fornax.
Inhabited by young blue star clusters, the
tightly wound
spiral arms of NGC 1350
seem to join in a circle around the galaxy's large,
bright nucleus, giving it the appearance of a
cosmic eye.
In fact, NGC 1350 is about 130,000 light-years across.
That makes it as large or slightly larger than the Milky Way.
For
earth-based astronomers,
NGC 1350 is seen on the outskirts of the
Fornax cluster
of galaxies, but its estimated distance suggests that
it is not itself a cluster member.
Of course, the bright spiky stars in the foreground of this
telescopic field of view are members of our own spiral
Milky Way galaxy.