NGC 1365: Majestic Island Universe

Explanation: Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is truly a majestic island universe some 200,000 light-years across. Located a mere 60 million light-years away toward the faint but heated constellation Fornax, NGC 1365 is a dominant member of the well-studied Fornax Cluster of galaxies. This impressively sharp color image shows the intense, reddish star forming regions near the ends of the galaxy's central bar and along its spiral arms. Seen in fine detail, obscuring dust lanes cut across the galaxy's bright core. At the core lies a supermassive black hole. Astronomers think NGC 1365's prominent bar plays a crucial role in the galaxy's evolution, drawing gas and dust into a star-forming maelstrom and ultimately feeding material into the central black hole.

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From inside the rings, this is whatSaturn looks like. For the first time in history, NASA directed a space craft to swoop between the planets. Hundreds of images were taken during the dive by the robotic vehicle. Looking back out, the craft was able to capture some great views. The featured image was taken a few hours before the closest approach and shows the unusual northern hexagon. The closest visible ring is the B ring, while the furthest ring is the F ring. After more than a decade of exploration and discovery, the Cassini spacecraft ran low on fuel and was directed to enter the atmosphere ofSaturn, where it melted.