As one of the most famous edge-on galaxies NGC 4565, also named Needle Galaxy because of it's narrow appearance, is a showpiece in the constellation Coma Berenices.
This view is displaying a classic feature of spiral galaxies, the bulge of stars near the center of the disk glowing in the yellow light of older stars. Massive dust lanes within the plain pf the galaxy shows very fine details and blueish areas of star formation. Recent observations at X-ray wavelengths have revealed powerful x-ray sources arising from the core region of NGC 4565. The major source is consistent with a low luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN). AGNs are producing x-rays and other forms of high energy radiation through accreted mass by a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. The galaxy spans 100 000 light years in diameter and is situated at a distance of 30 million light years.
