ngc4565 - the Needle galaxy

[wimvb]

This is a rework of data from 2019. More experience in processing allowed me to pull a little more out of the data. A little more colour, a little more detail and a few more faint fuzzies in the background. The faintest of these are 3.2 Gly distant. The galaxy cluster at the lower tip of the Needle is"only" 2.3 billion light years distant. There are also a few QSO's in the field of view. Next season, I may revisit this galaxy and try to go deeper.

Ngc 4565 itself is some 38 - 50 million light years from us (the larger estimates are from redshift measurements). It is a spiral galaxy with a distinct box-like bulge. The outer edges of the galaxy's disc are slightly warped, which is an indication that it is interacting with another galaxy; possibly ngc 4562, the smaller galaxy to the lower right of ngc 4565, or perhaps IC3571, that "smudge" straight up from the bulge and to the left of the upper tip of ngc 4565.

Ngc4565 has an angular size of 13.8 arc minutes. If we assume a distance of 38 Mly (wikipedia), this means that the galaxy is about 153 000 light years across, some 50% larger than our own Milky Way.

Essentials:

telescope + camera: SW MN190 + ZWO ASI174MM-Cool with ZWO LRGB filters

Only 5.3 hours of data, of which 100 minutes Luminance

Processedin PixInsight

Edited May 18, 2021 by wimvb

[peter shah]

a beautiful image

[wimvb]

Thank you, Peter.