Here is NGC986 – an SB spiral down in Fornax. It is about 76 million ly away, and with a diameter of about 45,000 ly it is about 1/2 the size of the Milky Way.

Its nucleus is undergoing intense star formation. The arms also exhibit quite a few pinkish HII regions.

Strong bars in a an SB like this one drive strong density waves that compress the gas in the arms, thus giving them a slender appearance.

PlaneWave 12.5″ Astrograph with an ST11000 camera, Astrodon filters, and ASA gearless DDM-85 mount. F/8 LRGB (45/8min L, 8/8min each 2×2 RGB).