NGC 1309 is a spiral galaxy located
approximately 120 million light-years away in the constellation
Eridanus. It is about 75,000 light-years across; about 3/4s the
width of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Its shape is classified
as SA(s)bc, meaning that it has moderately wound spiral arms and
no ring. Bright blue areas of star formation can be seen in the
spiral arms, while the yellowish central nucleus contains
older-population stars. NGC 1309 is one of over 200 members of
the Eridanus Group of galaxies.
