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Credit & Copyright: Martin Pugh
Explanation:
NGC
4631 is a big beautiful spiral galaxy.
Seen edge-on, it lies
only 25 million light-years away in the well-trained northern
constellation
Canes
Venatici.
The galaxy's slightly distorted wedge shape suggests to
some a cosmic herring and to others its popular moniker,
The Whale Galaxy.
Either way,
it is similar in size to our own Milky Way.
In this
sharp color image, the galaxy's yellowish core, dark dust clouds,
bright blue star clusters, and red star forming regions are easy
to spot.
A companion galaxy, the small elliptical NGC 4627 is just above the
Whale Galaxy.
Faint
star streams seen in deep images are the remnants of small
companion galaxies disrupted by repeated encounters with the Whale
in the distant past.
The Whale Galaxy is also known to have spouted
a halo of hot gas glowing
in X-rays.
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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
Publications with words: spiral galaxy - edge-on
See also:
- Webb and Hubble: IC 5332
- APOD: 2026 February 4 Á Spiral Galaxy NGC 1512: Wide Field
- Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1365 from Webb
- APOD: 2026 January 14 Á M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy
- IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis
- NGC 253: Dusty Island Universe
- APOD: 2025 November 5 Á Spiral Galaxy NGC 3370 from Hubble