This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope focuses on the barred spiral galaxy UGC 678.
The magnificent galaxy is almost face-on and is located in the constellation Pisces at a distance of 260 million light-years from Earth, allowing its lazily winding spiral arms to stretch across this image.
The upper part of UGC 678 appears to be split in half by a smaller edge-on galaxy in the foreground.
Barred spiral galaxies contain a bar-shaped structure of stars that spans from opposing sides of the galaxy's central bulge.
When the orbits of stars close to the galaxy's center become unstable and stretched out, bars form in spiral galaxies. As their orbits lengthen, they create a bar.
The bar increases as their gravity captures more and more neighboring stars. The bar of UGC 678 is faint.
It can be seen as a diagonal group of stars that stretches from the galaxy's core's lower left (7 o'clock) to upper right (1 o'clock).