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Needle Galaxy
NGC 4565 is an edge-on spiral galaxy whose bulging bright central core is cut in half by the dust lane the circles the galaxy. It is approximately 30 million light years away and approximately 100,000 light years in diameter. Our Milky Way Galaxy would look very similar if we could view it from the same position in space. Many astronomers consider it to be the best example of an edge-on galaxy and a masterpiece that Messier missed in his 18th century catalogue of more than a 100 objects (designated with an M such as M101) which were not to be confused with comets. While the comets that Messier discovered have been forgotten, the Messier list has become a favorite among amateur astronomers of “must see” deep space objects. Note in the lower right hand portion of the image is the spiral galaxy known as NGC 4562
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