NGC 4565

NGC 4565
NGC 4565 as seen by the ESO VLT FORS (visual and near-UV FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph)
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Coma Berenices
Right ascension	12h 36m 20.8s[1]
Declination	+25° 59′ 16″[1]
Redshift	0.004103[1]
Helio Radial velocity	1230 ± 5 km/s[1]
Distance	42.7 ± 12 Mly (13.1 ± 3.7 Mpc)[2] 53 ± 4 Mly (16.2 ± 1.3 Mpc)[3]
Type	SA(s)b?[1]
Apparent dimensions (V)	15′.90 × 1′.85[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	10.42[1]
Other designations
UGC 7772,[1] PGC 42038,[1] Caldwell 38
See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies

NGC 4565 (also known as the Needle Galaxy or Caldwell 38) is an edge-on spiral galaxy about 30 to 50 million light-years away^[2] in the constellation Coma Berenices.

The 10th magnitude galaxy sits perpendicular to our own Milky Way galaxy and is almost directly above the North Galactic Pole (in the same way Polaris is located above the Earth's North Pole).

It is known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile.^[4] First spotted in 1785 by Sir William Herschel (1738–1822), this is one of the most famous examples of an edge-on spiral galaxy.^[5] "Visible through a small telescope, some sky enthusiasts consider NGC 4565 to be a prominent celestial masterpiece Messier missed."^[4]

Much speculation exists in the literature as to the nature of the central bulge. In the absence of clear-cut dynamical data on the motions of stars in the bulge, the photometric data alone cannot adjudge among various options put forth. However, its exponential shape suggests that it is a barred spiral galaxy.^[6]

NGC 4565 and apparently smaller NGC 4562. 24-inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon, AZ. Courtesy of Joseph D. Schulman

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} "Results for NGC 4565". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nph-objsearch?objname=NGC+4565&img_stamp=yes&extend=no. Retrieved 2006-10-12. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Distance Results for NGC 4565". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nDistance?name=NGC+4565. Retrieved 2010-05-02. 
3. ^ Jensen, Joseph B.; Tonry, John L.; Barris, Brian J.; Thompson, Rodger I.; Liu, Michael C.; Rieke, Marcia J.; Ajhar, Edward A.; Blakeslee, John P. (February 2003). "Measuring Distances and Probing the Unresolved Stellar Populations of Galaxies Using Infrared Surface Brightness Fluctuations". Astrophysical Journal 583 (2): 712–726. arXiv:astro-ph/0210129. Bibcode 2003ApJ...583..712J. doi:10.1086/345430. 
4. ^ ^{a b} NGC4565 at http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap040409.html
5. ^ Spiral Galaxy NGC 4565 at http://www.eso.org/gallery/v/ESOPIA/Galaxies/phot-24a-05.tif.html
6. ^ "Intermediate-band surface photometry of the edge-on galaxy NGC 4565" at http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1538-3881/123/3/1364/201272.text.html

External links

• NGC 4565 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images
• National Optical Astronomical Observatory – NGC 4565
• APOD (2010-03-04) – NGC 4565: Galaxy on Edge
• APOD (2009-04-28) – NGC 4565

Coordinates: 12^h 36^m 20.8^s, +25° 59′ 16″