NGC 2997

NGC 2997 is a face-on spiral galaxy located about 40 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Antlia. It is a large galaxy with a symmetrical two-arm shape. Its morphological classification indicates that it is a weakly barred spiral galaxy with an incomplete ring around the bar and weakly wound spiral arms. The arms host a series of dusty knots that are star-forming regions generated through compression of gas by density waves. At the center, the arms converge to form a circumnuclear ring with symmetrically positioned hot spots containing super star clusters.