NGC4725

NGC4725 is the brightest member of a galaxy group in the constellation Coma Berenices and is about 40million light years distant and 130,000 light years in diameter. The structure is somewhat unusual, consisting of just one spiral arm which is tightly wound around the core and can be followed for about 1.5 revolutions. The spiral arm consists of dust and gases including bright blue stars and pinkish Ha regions which indicate star forming regions. Towards the center, much older, yellow stars can be seen. The galaxy is classified as a Seyfert Galaxy, indicating that the center contains a supermassive black hole.

The smaller galaxy on the right side is NGC4712 is within the galaxy group but is at the much greater distance of about 200million light years.

The LRGB image below represents 12 hours integration time and was taken with my Esprit 150.