| Needle Galaxy NGC 4565 in Coma Berenices |
The spectacular spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on, creating a delicate spindle shape that inspires its nickname the "Needle Galaxy." The
core of the galaxy bulges from the thin disk of its spiral arms. The core appears divided by thin obscuring lanes of dust in its galactic plane, which are
typical of large spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way. In fact, the Milky Way would resemble NGC 4565, if we were able to see it at a distance
from the side. NGC 4565 resides 31 million light-years away, and spreads over 100,000 light-years in diameter. Although overlooked by the Messier
catalog, it has benn included as entry 38 in the Caldwell catalog (C38).
The image above was obtained with 3 hours luminance with ST10XME through a Meade 12" LX200R, combined with 2 hours color (RGB 50-30-40
minutes) with ST2000XM through a TEC140, at the Hidden Lake Observatory.
The wider field image below, obtained three years earlier from my backyard, combined 2 hours 40 minutes of luminance exposures with 20 minutes of
green and red and 30 minutes of blue exposures, for a total exposure just under 4 hours. I used an ST10XME camera through a TEC 140 mm
refractor. If you look closely, other more distant galaxies can be seen at the 1:00 position (NGC 4562) and 10:00 (IC 3546) position of this image.
core of the galaxy bulges from the thin disk of its spiral arms. The core appears divided by thin obscuring lanes of dust in its galactic plane, which are
typical of large spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way. In fact, the Milky Way would resemble NGC 4565, if we were able to see it at a distance
from the side. NGC 4565 resides 31 million light-years away, and spreads over 100,000 light-years in diameter. Although overlooked by the Messier
catalog, it has benn included as entry 38 in the Caldwell catalog (C38).
The image above was obtained with 3 hours luminance with ST10XME through a Meade 12" LX200R, combined with 2 hours color (RGB 50-30-40
minutes) with ST2000XM through a TEC140, at the Hidden Lake Observatory.
The wider field image below, obtained three years earlier from my backyard, combined 2 hours 40 minutes of luminance exposures with 20 minutes of
green and red and 30 minutes of blue exposures, for a total exposure just under 4 hours. I used an ST10XME camera through a TEC 140 mm
refractor. If you look closely, other more distant galaxies can be seen at the 1:00 position (NGC 4562) and 10:00 (IC 3546) position of this image.
Music: My Sweet Lord, George Harrison
