The Needle Galaxy in Coma Berenices | European Southern Observatory

The Needle Galaxy in Coma Berenices | European Southern Observatory

The galaxy pictured here is NGC 4565, and for obvious reasons, is also called the Needle Galaxy. First spotted in 1785 by Uranus' discoverer, Sir William Herschel (1738-1822), this is one of the most famous examples of an edge-on spiral galaxy. NGC 4565 is located some 30 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices (Berenice's Hair). It displays a bright yellowish central bulge that juts out above most impressive dust lanes.

Since it is relatively close (it is only 12 times farther away than Messier 31, the Andromeda galaxy, the major galaxy closest to us) and relatively large (roughly one third larger than the Milky Way), it does not fit entirely into the field of view of the FORS instrument (about 7 x 7 arcmin2).

Many background galaxies are also visible in this FORS image, giving full meaning to their nickname of "island universes".

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Constellation: Coma Berenices

Release Date: Aug. 10, 2005

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