| Hockey Stick and Whale Galaxies |
On the right of this image, the Whale Galaxy (NGC 4631) is a large spiral galaxy, similar in size to our own Milky Way, but
seen edge-on. At a distance of 25 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, this whale certainly is "taking
the long way home." A smaller elliptical galaxy, NGC 4627 appears to float on the back of the whale. On the left side of the
image lies another distorted galaxy, the hockey stick-shaped NGC 4656. All three galaxies appear deformed by their
gravitational interaction.
This image combined 2 hours of Luminence exposures with 30 minutes of green and red and 25 minutes of blue exposures,
using an ST10XME camera through a TEC140 refractor. This photo was published in the November 2005 issue of
Astronomy magazine.
Three years later from the Hidden Lake Observatory, I took a closeup view of the Whale Galaxy with a larger telescope, as
shown on the next page.
seen edge-on. At a distance of 25 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, this whale certainly is "taking
the long way home." A smaller elliptical galaxy, NGC 4627 appears to float on the back of the whale. On the left side of the
image lies another distorted galaxy, the hockey stick-shaped NGC 4656. All three galaxies appear deformed by their
gravitational interaction.
This image combined 2 hours of Luminence exposures with 30 minutes of green and red and 25 minutes of blue exposures,
using an ST10XME camera through a TEC140 refractor. This photo was published in the November 2005 issue of
Astronomy magazine.
Three years later from the Hidden Lake Observatory, I took a closeup view of the Whale Galaxy with a larger telescope, as
shown on the next page.
Music: Take the Long Way Home, by Supertramp
