NGC 4656 and NGC 4657

NGC 4656/7
NGC 4656/7
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationCanes Venatici
Right ascension12h 43m 57.7s
Declination+32° 10′ 05″
Redshift646 km/s
Apparent magnitude (V)11.0
Characteristics
TypeSB(s)m pec
Size78,500 ly
Apparent size (V)12.9′
Notable featuressimilar to SMC
Other designations
UGC 7907, PGC 42863, Hockey Stick Galaxies, Crowbar Galaxy

NGC 4656/57, also known as Messier's Hockey Stick, the Hook Galaxy ("The Hook"), or the Hummingbird Galaxy, is a highly warped edge-on barred spiral galaxy located in the local universe 30 million light years away from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. This galaxy is sometimes called the Fish Hook Galaxy, Hockey Stick Galaxy, or the Crowbar Galaxy. Its unusual shape is thought to be due to an interaction between NGC 4656, NGC 4631, and NGC 4627. The galaxy is a member of the NGC 4631 Group.

A luminous blue variable in "super-outburst" was discovered in NGC 4656/57 on March 21, 2005.

Close up Hubble image of the galaxy

See also

References

  1. ↑ R. W. Sinnott, ed. (1988). The Complete New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters by J. L. E. Dreyer. Sky Publishing Corporation and Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-933346-51-2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 4656. Retrieved 2006-04-30.
  3. ↑ O'Meara, Stephen James (2007). Deep-Sky Companions: Hidden Treasures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83704-0.
  4. ↑ info@noirlab.edu. "Hockey Stick Galaxy NGC 4656". www.noirlab.edu. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  5. ↑ information@eso.org. "The Hockey Stick Galaxy". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  6. ↑ Stoyan, Ronald; Schurig, Stephan (2014). interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas. Erlangen: Cambridge University Press; Oculum-Verlag GmbH. ISBN 978-1-107-50338-0. OCLC 920437579.
  7. ↑ "The Hockey Stick Galaxy". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  8. ↑ Smith, Nathan; Li, Weidong; Silverman, Jeffrey M.; Ganeshalingam, Mohan; Filippenko, Alexei V. (2011-07-21). "Luminous blue variable eruptions and related transients: diversity of progenitors and outburst properties: LBV diversity". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 415 (1): 773–810. arXiv:1010.3718. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.18763.x.