<p>Discovered in 1784 by astronomer William Herschel, the galaxy <a href="https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1618a/">NGC 4394</a> is about 55 million light-years from Earth. It’s the archetypal <a href="http://hubblesite.org/hubble_discoveries/science_year_in_review/pdf/2008/barred_spiral_galaxies_and_galactic_evolution.pdf">barred spiral galaxy</a>, with graceful arms and a central bar of gas and stars.</p>
A Star-Studded Bar
Discovered in 1784 by astronomer William Herschel, the galaxy NGC 4394 is about 55 million light-years from Earth. It’s the archetypal barred spiral galaxy, with graceful arms and a central bar of gas and stars.
- Week's Best Space Pictures
Week's Best Space Pictures: A Magnificently Bulging Galaxy
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Feed your need for heavenly views of the universe with our pick of the most awe-inspiring space pictures.
This week, the Cassini spacecraft spots Enceladus just above Saturn’s rings, an International Space Station astronaut flies over Brazil, and one of Mars’s deepest chasms hints at the planet's once watery past.
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