This edge-on spiral galaxy is located 17 million light years away in the constellation of Canes Venatici at a declination of +32 degrees. It is a magnitude 10.5 galaxy which spans 11 arc-minutes in our apparent view. This corresponds to a diameter of 60,000 light years.
This object has nicknames which include Hockey Stick Galaxy, Fish Hook Galaxy, and Crowbar Galaxy.
Estimates for the number of galaxies seen in this image range from 1 to 3. The latest thinking is that there are 2 – a faint tidal dwarf galaxy (TDG) at upper left, and the bright main portion of NGC 4656 at center. The idea that NGC 4656 could itself be comprised of 2 galaxies is no longer the current view.
This galaxy appears very blue in most (but not all) of the images I have seen. To confirm the extent of its blue nature, I checked its visible spectrum:
It indeed appears to be very blue in real color. It is unusual for the blue part of the spectrum (<5000 range above) to be a higher value than the red (>6000 range above).
The three small yellow galaxies seen in the background range from 1 to 2 billion light years away.
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