Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  NGC 4627  ·  NGC 4631  ·  NGC 4656  ·  NGC 4657  ·  Whale Galaxy
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Whale (NGC 4631, C32) and Hockey Stick or Crowbar (NGC 4656) Galaxies, Greg Erianne
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Whale (NGC 4631, C32) and Hockey Stick or Crowbar (NGC 4656) Galaxies

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Whale (NGC 4631, C32) and Hockey Stick or Crowbar (NGC 4656) Galaxies, Greg Erianne
Powered byPixInsight

Whale (NGC 4631, C32) and Hockey Stick or Crowbar (NGC 4656) Galaxies

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Description

The Whale Galaxy (NGC 4631) is a large, edge-on, spiral galaxy about 25 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. Its peculiar shape explains the nickname. This is really a beautiful galaxy, with lots of colors and star forming regions like the starburst seen at its center.  It has a halo of hot, glowing gas that can be seen in X-ray images.  The other galaxy just above the Whale Galaxy in the photo is a small elliptical galaxy (NGC 4627) with several nicknames, including the Hockey Stick, the Crowbar, the Hook, and the Hummingbird.  If you look closely, you can see a faint star stream, presumed to be the remains of small companion galaxies left over from encounters with the Whale Galaxy long ago.Capture Date: 4/7/23Askar 107PHQ
ASI2600MC Pro (OSC camera)
ZWO AM5 mount with guiding via ASIAir Plus using an ASI178mm mini and a 60mm F4 guide scope
Light Frames [Total Exposure 2:05] - Antlia Triband Ultra RGB filter -- 300s x 25 framesAll light frames calibrated with dark, flat, and bias frames
Pre- and post-processed in PixInsight
Additional post-processing in Photoshop for exposure adjustments and generation of jpeg

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Whale (NGC 4631, C32) and Hockey Stick or Crowbar (NGC 4656) Galaxies, Greg Erianne