NGC 3621 - The Frame Galaxy

This beautiful galaxy lies as if suspended by a trapezium of stars just like a picture in a frame, therefore the name “The Frame Galaxy” or NGC3621.

Relatively large (93.000 light years across), its pinwheel shape is positioned at an angle of 25 degrees from our point of view and sits at a distance of around 20 million light years from us.

Its bright nucleus is nested in a bright ellipse of spiral arms that gradually unwinds into a large but faint halo. One prominent arm extends from the interior small bulge which is one of the most luminous region of the galaxy.