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Credit & Copyright: Josef Poepsel,
Stefan Binnewies
(Capella Observatory)
Explanation:
NGC
4631 is a big beautiful spiral galaxy
seen edge-on (top right)
only 25 million light-years away towards the small northern
constellation
Canes
Venatici.
This galaxy's slightly distorted wedge shape suggests to
some a cosmic herring and to others the popular moniker of
The Whale Galaxy.
Either way, it is similar in size to our
own Milky Way.
In this gorgeous color image,
the Whale's dark interstellar dust clouds, yellowish core, and young
blue star clusters are easy to spot.
A companion galaxy, the small elliptical NGC 4627, appears above the
Whale Galaxy.
At the lower left is another distorted galaxy,
the hockey stick-shaped
NGC
4656.
The distortions and mingling
trails of gas detected at other
wavelengths suggest that all three galaxies have had
close
encounters with each other in their past.
The Whale Galaxy is also known to have spouted a halo of hot gas glowing
in x-rays.
Count the Stars:
The
Great World Wide Star Count
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: spiral galaxy - edge-on galaxy
Publications with words: spiral galaxy - edge-on galaxy
See also:
- APOD: 2025 September 4 Á NGC 4565: Galaxy on Edge
- APOD: 2025 August 22 Á A Tale of Two Nebulae
- APOD: 2025 August 19 Á Giant Galaxies in Pavo
- APOD: 2025 August 18 Á NGC 1309: A Useful Spiral Galaxy
- APOD: 2025 July 4 Á NGC 6946 and NGC 6939
- APOD: 2025 June 30 Á NGC 4651: The Umbrella Galaxy
- APOD: 2025 June 19 Á NGC 3521: Galaxy in a Bubble