NGC 4565 – The Needle Galaxy

NGC 4565 is an edge-on spiral galaxy about 30 to 50 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It lies close to the North Galactic Pole and has a visual magnitude of approximately 10. It is known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile.
I remember very well that I observed this object when I was 15 years old, using a 20 cm Newtonian telescope and compared it with a hair with a knot…

Photographer: Bram Goossens