Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  NGC 4627  ·  NGC 4631  ·  NGC 4656  ·  NGC 4657  ·  Whale Galaxy
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NGC 4631 + NGC 4656 (Whale + Hockey Stick Galaxies), Phil Creed
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NGC 4631 + NGC 4656 (Whale + Hockey Stick Galaxies)

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
NGC 4631 + NGC 4656 (Whale + Hockey Stick Galaxies), Phil Creed
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 4631 + NGC 4656 (Whale + Hockey Stick Galaxies)

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Description

The "Whale" (NGC 4631) and "Hockey Stick" (NGC 4656) are two interacting galaxies in Canes Venaciti roughly 30 million light years distant.  Tidal influence of NGC 4631 distorted NGC 4656, hence its unusual appearance.

This was shot under suboptimal, moonlit conditions, but galaxy seasons was already running short by this time of year and the rest of the month was a bust due to Canadian wildfire smoke.

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NGC 4631 + NGC 4656 (Whale + Hockey Stick Galaxies), Phil Creed