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

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NGC 4565 (The Needle Galaxy), Tommy Mastro
NGC 4565 (The Needle Galaxy)
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 4565 (The Needle Galaxy)

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Description

This bright galaxy is one of the most famous examples of an edge-on spiral galaxy, oriented perpendicularly to our line of sight so that we see right into its luminous disc. NGC 4565 has been nicknamed the Needle Galaxy because, when seen in full, it appears as a very narrow streak of light on the sky. This edgewise view into the Needle Galaxy shows ribbons of dust blocking some of the light coming from the galactic disc. Studying galaxies like NGC 4565 helps astronomers learn more about our home, the Milky Way. At a distance of only about 40 million light-years, NGC 4565 is relatively close by, and being seen edge-on makes it a particularly useful object for comparative study. As spiral galaxies go, NGC 4565 is a whopper — about a third larger than the Milky Way.

~NASA Science

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NGC 4565 (The Needle Galaxy), Tommy Mastro