The Extraordinarily Slender Galaxy NGC 4452

This striking image shows galaxy NGC 4452, which appears to lie exactly edge-on as seen from Earth. This amazing object, which lies in constellation Virgo, was first seen by William Herschel in 1784 from England. He described the object as a bright nebula, small and very much elongated. The Hubble image shows just how elongated this unusual object truly is. NGC 4452, thought to be a lenticular galaxy, is a member of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. This enormous grouping is approximately 60 million light-years distant and contains around 2000 members.