NGC 4631 - The Whale Galaxy and NGC4656/57 - The Hockey Stick Galaxy (Kurt Zeppetello)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn) · Contains: NGC 4627 · NGC 4631 · NGC 4656 · NGC 4657

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NGC 4631 - The Whale Galaxy and NGC4656/57 - The Hockey Stick Galaxy

Link: http://kurt-zeppetello.blogspot.com/

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NGC 4631 - The Whale Galaxy and NGC4656/57 - The Hockey Stick Galaxy

Link: http://kurt-zeppetello.blogspot.com/

NGC 4631 or the Whale Galaxy is an edge on barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici located on the lower center portion of my image. It has a a slightly distorted wedge shape that gives it the appearance of a whale. This galaxy has a bright central star forming region and dust lanes are visible throughout the galaxy. Located about 30 million light-years from Earth it is approximately the same size as the Milky Way Galaxy. Directly below the Whale is the small elliptical galaxy NGC 4627 which is gravitationally bound to NGC 4631. The Hockey Stick Galaxy (a.k.a. the Crowbar Galaxy or NGC 4656/4657) is located on the top right. This is a highly irregular shaped galaxy believed to have been elongated during interactions with NGC 4631.

Processing was a bit tedious as usual in fact I used StarTools for first time in a long time. I was pleased with how the Whale turned out but a little less happy with the Hockey Stick. I also used Astrophotography Tool (APT) for camera control. I am getting a little more comfortable with it so if I ever get another camera I will be ready. I found focusing in APT using FWHM is a bit more jumpy than with BYE, but it did work. Also, taking flats is easier as APT has a setting where all you have to do is change the camera to Av mode.

Imaged with APT
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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	2034088
PixInsight job	0SZ504RY4ET6G72PWBFMD02ESC3PAHEA
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	n/a

RA (center)	12h42m46s.75
RA (top/left)	12h40m03s.80
RA (top/right)	12h45m12s.51
RA (bottom/right)	12h45m30s.80
RA (bottom/left)	12h40m19s.69

Dec (center)	+32°23′50″.9
Dec (top/left)	+32°04′40″.2
Dec (top/right)	+31°59′14″.8
Dec (bottom/right)	+32°42′48″.6
Dec (bottom/left)	+32°48′12″.3

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NGC 4631 - The Whale Galaxy and NGC4656/57 - The Hockey Stick Galaxy

NGC 4631 - The Whale Galaxy and NGC4656/57 - The Hockey Stick Galaxy

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NGC 4631 - The Whale Galaxy and NGC4656/57 - The Hockey Stick Galaxy

NGC 4631 - The Whale Galaxy and NGC4656/57 - The Hockey Stick Galaxy

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