skyeye
NGC 4565: Galaxy on the Edge

Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on from planet Earth.
Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is
a stop on many springtime telescopic tours of the northern sky as it lies in
the faint but well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. This sharp color
image reveals the galaxy's bulging central core dominated by light from a
population of older, yellowish stars. The core is dramatically cut by obscuring
dust lanes which lace NGC 4565's thin galactic plane. A large island universe
similar to our own Milky Way Galaxy, NGC 4565 is only about 30 million
light-years distant, but over 100,000 light-years in diameter. In fact, some
consider NGC 4565 to be a prominent celestial masterpiece Messier missed.