Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Coma Berenices (Com)  ·  Contains:  IC 3571  ·  NGC 4565  ·  Needle Galaxy
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NGC 4565 - The Needle Galaxy, Mirosław Stygar
NGC 4565 - The Needle Galaxy
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NGC 4565 - The Needle Galaxy

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging
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NGC 4565 - The Needle Galaxy, Mirosław Stygar
NGC 4565 - The Needle Galaxy
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 4565 - The Needle Galaxy

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging

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Description

NGC 4565, also known as the Needle Galaxy or Caldwell 38, is one of those cosmic gems that belong to the canon of objects amateur astronomers and astrophotographers alike must have on their lists. It would be a shame to overlook it, but unfortunately, despite its brightness, it went unnoticed by Charles Messier, with the first recorded observation dating back to April 6, 1785, credited to William Herschel.

This edge-on spiral galaxy, situated approximately 30 to 50 million light-years away, resides in the constellation of Coma Berenices. It lies close to the North Galactic Pole and has an observed brightness of around 9.5 magnitudes. What makes it exceptional is its distinct spiral galaxy structure, which presents itself to us edge-on, revealing a magnificent band of stars and cosmic dust.

The material was gathered during a significant dusting from Africa, and unfortunately, the colors, especially the stars, suffered from it. On the other hand, the conditions allowed for obtaining quite decent, given the short exposure times, frames with a length of 1.5 seconds.

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NGC 4565 - The Needle Galaxy, Mirosław Stygar

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