H-NGC4656 — Hockey Stick
Galaxy in Canes Venatici
About
The Hockey Stick, a warped, edge-on barred spiral in Canes Venatici about 30 million light-years away. Its odd shape is thought to come from an encounter between it and its neighbours NGC 4631 and NGC 4627. It belongs to the NGC 4631 group and is in the Herschel 400.
Imaging tips
- About 15′ long: 1620–2690 mm on APS-C, or 2480–4130 mm on full frame.
- Faint for its size at 23.3 mag/arcsec², so plan many hours of broadband data.
- One imager's frame of about 3 hours (5-minute subs) held the Whale, NGC 4631, above and the Hockey Stick below.
- Another imager gathered 7.85 hours of 180 s frames with a 540 mm refractor and a one-shot colour camera.
- Best around March and April; it peaks near 72° altitude from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 15′ × 3′
- Magnitude
- 10.5
- Coordinates
- RA 12h 44.0m, Dec +32° 10′
- Framing, APS-C
- 1620–2690 mm
- Framing, full frame
- 2480–4130 mm
- Best months
- Mar, Apr
- Peak altitude
- 72° from 50°N, 87° from 35°N