Needle galaxy also known as NGC 4565 is a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way galaxy. It was first observed and reported by William Herschel in 1785.  In size, it appears to be similar to the Milky Way galaxy with a diameter of about 100,000 light years. Also, like our galaxy, it has active star-forming regions. Like most galaxies, it has a super massive black hole at its center (paper).

About the photograph:

We are seeing this galaxy edge-on. Hence, it appears like a needle. In fact, it is a barred-spiral galaxy. You can also see other smaller, fainter galaxies in the photograph. One, on the top left, is the faint galaxy NGC 4562.

We took this image from Lake San Antonio, California in 2018-19.

Needle Galaxy Details

Catalogue Name	NGC 4565
Constellation	Coma Berenices
Distance (Light Years)	38.5 million light years
Photographic Information
Exposure	5 hours 45 minutes
Equipment	AGO 10” Newtonian, Paramount MyT
Processing	Pixinsight, Lightroom
Imaging Location	Lake San Antonio, CA