Spiral galaxy NGC 1232 - Lucky to be Friends Card

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series: A fantastic greetings card showing a stunning, mind-blowing image that reveals a little of the wonder that is our universe. This spectacular image of the large spiral galaxy NGC 1232 was obtained on September 21, 1998, during a period of good observing conditions. It is based on three exposures in ultra-violet, blue and red light, respectively. The colours of the different regions are well visible : the central areas contain older stars of reddish colour, while the spiral arms are populated by young, blue stars and many star-forming regions. Note the distorted companion galaxy on the left side, shaped like the greek letter "theta". Image code: spgxy253 ESO/J. Reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.