A phantom among the bright galaxies, M74 is one of the closest and largest face-on spirals in the sky — yet it is difficult to observe, especially from light-polluted areas. Under a dark sky, the galaxy is a wonder. Just 32 million light-years away in Pisces, this grand-design spiral of 100 billion stars sports perfectly symmetrical spiral arms unwinding from a blazing core.
The galaxy’s entire disk, tilted only 5° away from face-on, has undergone active star formation within t