NGC 4656 & 4657

Highly Warped Barred-Spiral Galaxy, Canes Venatici

January 2020. Cave Creek Canyon Observatory, Arizona Sky Village

NGC 4656/57 is a highly warped barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici and is sometimes informally called the Hockey Stick Galaxies or the Crowbar Galaxy. 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.

Telescope: Astro Physics 175EDF f8.3
Mount: Astro Physics 3600GTO “El Capitan”
Camera: SBIG STT8300
Guider: Mini Borg 50 / SBIG STi

L: 74×10 mins = 740 mins, R: 24×10 mins = 240 mins, G: 24×10 mins = 240 mins, B: 24×10 mins = 240 mins

Total Imaging Time: 26h 20m

Data Imaged remotely over 9 nights during January 2020.
Data acquisition & Processing by David Churchill.