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Credit & Copyright: David Martínez-Delgado (University of Heidelberg),
et al.
Explanation:
NGC
4631 is a spiral galaxy found only 25 million light-years away,
toward the well-trained northern constellation
Canes
Venatici.
Seen ege-on, the galaxy is similar in size to
the Milky Way.
Its distorted wedge shape suggests to
some a cosmic herring and to others its popular moniker,
The Whale Galaxy.
The large galaxy's small, remarkably bright elliptical
companion NGC 4627 lies just above its dusty yellowish core,
but also identifiable are recently
discovered,
faint dwarf galaxies within the halo of NGC 4631.
In fact, the faint extended features below (and above)
NGC 4631 are now recognized as tidal star streams.
The star streams are remnants of a dwarf satellite galaxy
disrupted by repeated encounters with the Whale that began
about 3.5 billion years ago.
Even in nearby galaxies,
the presence of tidal star streams is
predicted by cosmological models of galaxy formation, including the
formation of our own Milky Way.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: NGC 4631 - spiral galaxy - interacting galaxies
Publications with words: NGC 4631 - spiral galaxy - interacting galaxies
See also:
- APOD: 2025 June 8 B Facing NGC 3344
- APOD: 2025 June 1 B UGC 1810: Wildly Interacting Galaxy from Hubble
- APOD: 2025 May 26 B Spiral Galaxy NGC 2566 from Webb
- Curly Spiral Galaxy M63
- Messier 101
- APOD: 2025 April 21 B Galaxy Lenses Galaxy from Webb
- APOD: 2025 April 7 B NGC 4414: A Flocculent Spiral Galaxy