Image of the Day: A Cosmic Circle of Light

The center of the magnificent barred spiral galaxy NGC 1512 reveals a stunning 2,400 light-year-wide circle of infant star clusters. Astronomers generally believe that the giant bar, which is too faint to be seen in this image, funnels the gas to the inner ring, where massive stars are formed within numerous star clusters. NGC 1512 Located 30 million light-years away, is a neighbor of our Milky Way galaxy.

Courtesy: Hubble/NASA