Grand Spiral Galaxy NGC 7424
The grand , winding arms are almost mesmerizing in this face-on view of NGC 7424, a spiral galaxy with a prominent central bar . About 40 million light-years distant in the headlong constellation Grus , this island universe is also about 100,000 light-years across making it remarkably similar to our own Milky Way . Following along the winding arms, many bright clusters of massive young stars can be found. The star clusters themselves are several hundred light-years in diameter. And while massive stars are born in the arms of NGC 7424, they also die there. Notably, this galaxy was home to a powerful stellar explosion, supernova SN 2001ig , which faded well before the above image was recorded. Follow APOD on: Facebook ( Daily ) ( Sky ) ( Spanish ) or Google Plus ( Daily ) ( River )