NGC 4656 - The Crowbar or Hockey Stick Galaxy
Taken by Tom Wildoner on April 11, 2026 @
Weatherly, PA, USA
Click photo for larger image
| |
Camera Used: Unavailable Unavailable
Exposure Time: Unavailable
Aperture: Unavailable
ISO: Unavailable
Date Taken: 2026:05:23 17:41:35
|
|
| More images
Details:
NGC 4656, often referred to as the Crowbar Galaxy or Hockey Stick Galaxy due to its distinctive warped shape, is a barred spiral galaxy located approximately 25 to 30 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. Gravitationally interacting with its neighbor NGC 4631 (the Whale Galaxy), this cosmic neighbor features a dramatic, distorted stellar tail pulled outward by tidal forces during a close galactic encounter. Within this warped structure, intense regions of star formation are actively occurring, highlighted by bright young stellar clusters and glowing hydrogen gas clouds ignited by the gravitational disruption.
🔠Technical Details:
Telescope: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC BIN1 Cooled to 0C.
Mount: EQ6R Mount
Capture: 180 x 60 seconds
Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA (Bortle 4)
Processing: DSS and PixInsight
Image Date: April 11, 2026.
Photographer's website:
https://www.thedarksideobservatory.com
|
|
|
