Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  NGC 4627  ·  NGC 4631
NGC4631 The Whale Galaxy, AlBroxton
NGC4631 The Whale Galaxy
Powered byPixInsight

NGC4631 The Whale Galaxy

Equipment

Loading...

Acquisition details

Loading...

Description

NGC 4631 (also known as the Whale Galaxy or Caldwell 32) is an edge-on spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. This galaxy's slightly distorted wedge shape gives it the appearance of a herring or a whale, whence its nickname. Because this nearby galaxy is seen edge-on from Earth, professional astronomers observe this galaxy to better understand the gas and stars located outside the plane of the galaxy.

Observation Notes : Very bright, very large, very much elongated 6 X 1 in PA 90, bright middle. At 100X this very mottled galaxy is a rather bizarre shape that members of the Saguaro Astronomy Club call "The Slug". Discovered in 1787 by William Herschel.

Comments

Sky plot

Sky plot

Histogram

NGC4631 The Whale Galaxy, AlBroxton

In these collections

Allen Broxton
Galaxies