Whale and Hockey Stick Galaxies
The whale galaxy is a spiral galaxy located about 25 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. That makes it a close neighbor by astronomical standards. It is similar in size to our own Milky Way.
It's companion is NGC 4656, a barred spiral galaxy known as the Hockey Stick or Crowbar. Both of these galaxies are seen edge-on and are highly distorted due to a recent gravitational interaction.
Exposure: Blue: 70x180" (3h 30') bin 2x2; Green: 62x180" (3h 6') bin 2x2; Lum: 210x180" (10h 30') bin 1x1; Red: 63x180" (3h 9') bin 2x2; Total Integration: 20h 15'