October 15, 2011
Your birthday marks the moment a small planet circling a modest star gained another witness to its wonders.
NGC 4565: Galaxy on Edge
Birthday · October 15, 2011
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APOD published October 15, 2011. Credit: Bob Franke. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
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 telescopic tours of the northern sky, in the faint but well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. This sharp, colorful image reveals the galaxy's bulging central core cut by obscuring dust lanes that lace NGC 4565's thin galactic plane. An assortment of other background galaxies is included in the pretty field of view, with neighboring galaxy NGC 4562 at the lower right. NGC 4565 itself lies about 40 million light-years distant and spans some 100,000 light-years. Easily spotted with small telescopes, sky enthusiasts consider NGC 4565 to be a prominent celestial masterpiece Messier missed.
Image credit: Bob Franke