The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has delivered an unrivalled snapshot of the hockey stick-shaped galaxy NGC 4656.
This image from Hubble shows the spiral galaxy NGC 4656. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.
NGC 4656 is a distorted edge-on spiral galaxy located in the small northern constellation Canes Venatici, approximately 15.8 million light-years away.
The galaxy was discovered on March 20, 1787, by the British astronomer William Herschel.
Also known as LEDA 42863, IRAS 12415+3226 and UGC 7907, NGC 4656 also has a somewhat more interesting and intriguing name — the Hockey Stick Galaxy.
The reason for this is a little unclear from this partial view, which shows the bright central region, but the galaxy is actually shaped like an elongated, warped stick, stretching out through space until it curls around at one end to form a striking imitation of a celestial hockey stick.
This unusual shape is thought to be due to an interaction between NGC 4656 and a couple of near neighbors, the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4631 (otherwise known as the Whale Galaxy) and the small elliptical galaxy NGC 4627.
Galactic interactions can completely reshape a celestial object, shifting and warping its constituent gas, stars, and dust into bizarre and beautiful configurations.
This image of NGC 4656 is made up of observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) in the ultraviolet, infrared, and optical parts of the spectrum.
It is based on data obtained through seven filters.
The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.
