ESO 269-G57 is a fascinating barred spiral galaxy spanning around 200,000 light-years and situated about 150 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus, and it’s anything but typical.
This galaxy features a bright central bar surrounded by a sharply defined inner ring, clearly visible in this image. From there, spiral arms emerge—but unlike in grand design spirals, these arms quickly become fragmented, irregular, and asymmetrical. The structure on the lower left in particular appears loosely wound and chaotic, hinting at complex internal dynamics or the distant echo of a past encounter.
Look closely and you’ll spot several magenta-hued star-forming knots along the arms. These striking colors are likely from Hα and [S II] emission, revealing active stellar nurseries lighting up the galaxy’s outskirts.
There’s also a faint extended arc-like feature trailing off the lower right, suggestive of a tidal tail or stream a possible indication that ESO 269-G57 may have experienced a minor merger or interaction long ago.
Interestingly, its neighboring galaxies in the NGC 5064 Group, such as NGC 5156 and NGC 5064, show no signs of recent disturbance, reinforcing the idea that this is either a solitary evolution or the result of an older, low-mass encounter.
Imaged in LRGB on my Planewave CDK 1000 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile.
Image acquisition and processing: Mike Selby