Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1300.

NGC 1300 is a large spiral galaxy that appears as a flattened figure eight. A huge bar that spans over 150,000 light-years across the galaxy center dominates its appearance. The picturesque galaxy lies about 75 million light-years distant, so that light that we see now left during the age of the dinosaurs . Although it is well known how fast different parts of NGC 1300 rotate , the specific orbits of many component stars -- including how they interact with the gigantic bar -- remains a topic of research . Our own Milky Way Galaxy is a spiral galaxy with a less prominent bar. NGC 1300 can be seen with a small telescope towards the constellation of Eridanus .