NGC 3081 is a rarely imaged barred lenticular ring galaxy 131 million light years away in Hydra.
The galaxy is seen nearly face on showing a bright active nucleus . The ring has numerous areas of star formation. There are actually four well defined rings each with its own regions of star formation. The nuclear ring has two distinct spiral arms. The bar structure is actually a double bar.
Imaged in LRGB on our Planewave CDK 1000 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile.
Image Processing: Mike Selby