APOD: 2022 February 21 - Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 6217

Good morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the 2022 President's Day edition of the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): "Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 6217." Edwin Hubble first classified spiral galaxies as those having a flattened disk, a central concentration of stars (known as the bulge), and surrounding stars forming a two (or more) -armed spiral structure. Hubble also noticed that some spiral galaxies have a bar-like structure, with the bar extending from the central bulge, and the arms begin at the ends of the bar. These he called barred spiral galaxies. NGC 6217 is a classic example of a barred spiral galaxy, and lies about 60 million light years away near the constellation Ursa Minor (The Little Dipper).