Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2026 January 21 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1365 from Webb Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]CSA, Janice Lee ([6]NOIRLab) - Processing: Alyssa Pagan ([7]STScI) Explanation: [8]A mere 56 million light-years distant toward the southern constellation Fornax, [9]NGC 1365 is an enormous barred spiral galaxy about 200,000 light-years in diameter. That's twice the size of our own barred spiral Milky Way. [10]This sharp image from the [11]James Webb Space Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) [12]reveals stunning details of this magnificent spiral [13]in infrared light. Webb's [14]field of view stretches about 60,000 light-years across NGC 1365, exploring the galaxy's core and bright newborn star clusters. The intricate network of dusty filaments and bubbles is created by young stars along spiral arms winding from the galaxy's central bar. [15]Astronomers suspect the gravitational field of NGC 1365's bar plays a crucial role in the galaxy's evolution, funneling gas and dust into a [16]star-forming maelstrom and ultimately feeding material into the active galaxy's central, [17]supermassive black hole. Tomorrow's picture: the light, the dark, and the dusty __________________________________________________________________ [18]< | [19]Archive | [20]Submissions | [21]Index | [22]Search | [23]Calendar | [24]RSS | [25]Education | [26]About APOD | [27]Discuss | [28]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [29]Robert Nemiroff ([30]MTU) & [31]Jerry Bonnell ([32]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [33]Specific rights apply. [34]NASA Web Privacy, [35]Accessibility, [36]Notices; A service of: [37]ASD at [38]NASA / [39]GSFC, [40]NASA Science Activation & [41]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2601/JWSTMIRI_ngc1365.png 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://www.esa.int/ 5. https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/ 6. https://noirlab.edu/public/ 7. https://www.stsci.edu/ 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221222.html 9. https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Lindblad/Lind_contents.html 10. https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2023/104/01GS812G7AGRG6D1WCXPS3EYZ5 11. https://webbtelescope.org/home 12. https://noirlab.edu/public/blog/stellar-nurseries-nearby-galaxies/ 13. https://webbtelescope.org/webb-science/the-observatory/infrared-astronomy 14. https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2023/104/01GS81DRATN70PTZKK42BS2JXG 15. https://arxiv.org/abs/0907.2602 16. https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2020/hubble-sees-swirls-of-forming-stars 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250504.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260120.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 22. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 24. https://apod.com/feed.rss 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 27. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260121 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260122.html 29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 32. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 34. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 35. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 36. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 37. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 38. https://www.nasa.gov/ 39. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 40. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 41. http://www.mtu.edu/