NGC4565 · Needle Galaxy
| Chinese name | 针状星系 |
|---|---|
| Type | Galaxy |
| Constellation | Com |
| RA | 12h36m |
| Dec | +26° |
| Apparent magnitude | 9.6ᵐ |
| Hemisphere | Northern |
| Best season | Spring |
| Difficulty | Hard |
| Focal length | 长焦 1000mm+ |
About
The Needle Galaxy lies roughly 30 to 50 million light-years away in Coma Berenices, one of the most spectacular edge-on spirals in the sky. Its disk is extremely thin and elongated, spanning about 16 arcminutes, with a clear dark dust lane running its full length and a large, bright bulge arching at the center. About 100,000 light-years across like the Milky Way, it is often called a 'mirror' of our galaxy seen edge-on. At magnitude 10 it is a relatively bright, easily recognized edge-on system. Razor-sharp and geometrically striking at long focal lengths, it is a signature spring galaxy target in Coma Berenices.