Click on the image for a full resolution version
NGC 1300 is a clear example of a barred spiral galaxy. This bar, seems to be funneling gas towards the nucleus of the galaxy, thus conforming a “grand design” spiral structure around it. Although this feature is not visible in this image, I recommend to visit the Hubble site for a full resolution image of this object. With a size about the one of our own Milky Way, the central black hole is way larger than ours (according to A. Graham in 2008), about 73 Million solar masses, compared with 4 Million for our MW. Very often, galaxies with such central Supermassive Black Holes (SMBHs), have an active nucleus and are usually classified as Seyfert galaxies. It is not the case for NGC 1300, because the central Black Hole is not accreting matter and therefore, it is not active.
Additional Information
Object
Name(s): NGC 1300
Type: Spiral Galaxy Type SBbc
RA: 03h 19m 40s
Dec: -19º 24’ 49”
Constellation: Eridanus
Size (arcmin): 6.5×4.5 arcmin
Magnitude: +10.4
Distance: 61 Mly
Image
Date: 2019-08-06 to 2019-09-27
Location: iTelescope.net, SSO near Coonabarabran, NSW Australia
Size (arcmin): 35×36 arcmin
Telescope: 20” f/6.8 Reflector
Camera: SBIG STX16803 (4096x4096pix)
Guiding: Astrodon MonsterMOAG off-axis guider
Total exposure: 16.25 hours (Ha: 3.5h; L: 5h; RGB: 7.75h)
Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CC 2020