Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  NGC 4627  ·  NGC 4631  ·  NGC 4656  ·  NGC 4657  ·  Whale Galaxy
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NGC 4631/4656 - Whale & Hockey Stick Galaxies, Monty Giavelli
NGC 4631/4656 - Whale & Hockey Stick Galaxies
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NGC 4631/4656 - Whale & Hockey Stick Galaxies

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
NGC 4631/4656 - Whale & Hockey Stick Galaxies, Monty Giavelli
NGC 4631/4656 - Whale & Hockey Stick Galaxies
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 4631/4656 - Whale & Hockey Stick Galaxies

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Description

The Whale Galaxy (NGC 4631) and the Hockey Stick Galaxy (NGC 4656/NGC4657) are two barred spiral galaxies located in the constellation Canes Venatici.

Distance: 30 million light years for the Whale & 25 million light-years for the Hockey Stick.
Both galaxies were  discovered by William Herschel in 1787.

The curl on the end of the Hockey Stick is thought to be due to an interaction between NGC 4656 and a couple of nearby neighbours.

I imaged these galaxies over two nights.
These galaxies are a bit small for an 800mm focal length telescope so I cropped the final image.
At  this time of the year I only have small galaxies visible from my observatory, I need a larger telescope !!

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NGC 4631/4656 - Whale & Hockey Stick Galaxies, Monty Giavelli