Visible/infrared cross-fade of images of the spectacular barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365

In this video we fade between a visible-light image of the barred spiral NGC 1365 taken with the FORS1 camera on ESO’s VLT and the new infrared view obtained with the HAWK-I camera. In the near-infrared the dust in the galaxy is much less prominent and the new data is ideal for studying the complex interactions between stars and gas in this spectacular barred spiral.