NGC 613 — a breathtaking barred spiral galaxy — lies about 67 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor, a cosmic jewel first spotted by William Herschel on December 9, its heart, a bold central bar slices through the nucleus, encircled by a delicate inner ring. From there, the spiral arms unfurl in graceful, moderately loose spirals, while a brilliant bulge—nearly 9,000 light-years wide—glows with the light of countless stars.The bar itself is strikingly broad and somewhat irregular, with dramatic dust lanes tracing its leading edges. These dusty highways fuel intense star formation at the bar's ends and throughout the swirling arms, lighting up regions of vigorous cosmic creation.Deep in the core, massive young stars give the galaxy's spectrum the signature glow of an H II region, earning NGC 613 its classification as an H II galaxy. A fascinating radio ring—about 1,100 light-years across—surrounds the nucleus, while a peculiar 2,000-light-year-long linear structure cuts perpendicularly across it, composed of three distinct blobs.Lurking at the very center is a supermassive black hole, estimated to have a mass between 20 and 90 million solar masses, quietly ruling this dynamic galactic 2016, astronomers witnessed a spectacular explosion in NGC 613: SN 2016gkg, a Type IIb supernova. These rare events begin with hydrogen-rich spectra like typical Type II explosions, but as they evolve, they shed their outer layers and transition to resemble Type Ib are some stunning views of this mesmerizing galaxy: (Images: Hubble/ESA/NASA and ESO composites showing NGC 613's intricate structure, glowing arms, and dusty bar.)