View source for Astronomy:NGC 4656 and NGC 4657

{{Short description|Galaxy in constellation Canes Venatici}}
{{Infobox Galaxy
| name = [[Astronomy:New General Catalogue|NGC]] 4656/7
| image = Hockeystick.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = NGC 4656/7.  Credit: Scott Anttila.
| constellation name = [[Astronomy:Canes Venatici|Canes Venatici]]<ref name="sinnott">{{cite book 
 | editor=R. W. Sinnott
 | title= The Complete New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters by J. L. E. Dreyer
 | date=1988
 | publisher=Sky Publishing Corporation and Cambridge University Press
 | isbn=978-0-933346-51-2}}</ref>
| epoch = [[Astronomy:J2000|J2000]]
| type = SB(s)m pec<ref name="ned">{{cite web
  | title=NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database
  | work=Results for NGC 4656
  | url=http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/
  | access-date=2006-04-30}}</ref>
| ra = {{RA|12|43|57.7}}<ref name="ned"/>
| dec = {{DEC|+32|10|05}}<ref name="ned"/>
| dist_ly = 
| z= 646 km/[[Second|s]]<ref name="ned"/>
| appmag_v = 11.0<ref name="ned"/>
| size_v = 12.9{{prime}}<ref name="ned"/>
| notes = similar to SMC
| names = [[Astronomy:Uppsala General Catalogue|UGC]] 7907,<ref name="ned" /> [[Astronomy:Principal Galaxies Catalogue|PGC]] 42863,<ref name="ned" /> Hockey Stick Galaxies, Crowbar Galaxy
}}

'''NGC 4656/57''' is a highly warped edge-on<ref>{{Cite web |last=info@noirlab.edu |title=Hockey Stick Galaxy NGC 4656 |url=https://www.noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-ngc4656/ |access-date=2023-12-02 |website=www.noirlab.edu |language=en}}</ref> [[Astronomy:Barred spiral galaxy|barred spiral galaxy]] located in the local universe 30 million light years away from earth in the [[Astronomy:Constellation|constellation]] [[Astronomy:Canes Venatici|Canes Venatici]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=information@eso.org |title=The Hockey Stick Galaxy |url=https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1731a/ |access-date=2023-12-02 |website=www.spacetelescope.org |language=en}}</ref> This [[Astronomy:Galaxy|galaxy]] is sometimes called the '''Hockey Stick Galaxy''' or the '''Crowbar Galaxy'''. Its unusual shape is thought to be due to an interaction between [[Astronomy:NGC 4656|NGC 4656]], [[Astronomy:NGC 4631|NGC 4631]], and [[Astronomy:NGC 4627|NGC 4627]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Hockey Stick Galaxy|url=https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1731a/|website=www.spacetelescope.org|access-date=31 July 2017}}</ref> The galaxy is a member of the [[Astronomy:NGC 4631 Group|NGC 4631 Group]].

A [[Astronomy:Luminous blue variable|luminous blue variable]] in "super-outburst" was discovered in NGC 4656/57 on March 21, 2005.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Nathan |last2=Li |first2=Weidong |last3=Silverman |first3=Jeffrey M. |last4=Ganeshalingam |first4=Mohan |last5=Filippenko |first5=Alexei V. |date=2011-07-21 |title=Luminous blue variable eruptions and related transients: diversity of progenitors and outburst properties: LBV diversity |url=https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article-lookup/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.18763.x |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |language=en |volume=415 |issue=1 |pages=773–810 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.18763.x|arxiv=1010.3718 }}</ref>

[[File:The Hockey Stick Galaxy.jpg|thumb|Close up Hubble image of the galaxy]]

==See also==
* [[Astronomy:Antennae Galaxies|Antennae Galaxies]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/H/Hockey_Stick.html Hockey Stick (NGC 4656)]
* [http://messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/n4656.html SEDS] – NGC 4656


{{DEFAULTSORT:NGC 4656 and NGC 4657}}
[[Category:Canes Venatici]]
[[Category:NGC 4631 Group]]
[[Category:NGC objects|4656]]
[[Category:UGC objects|07907]]
[[Category:Principal Galaxies Catalogue objects|42863]]
[[Category:Interacting galaxies]]
[[Category:Barred spiral galaxies]]



{{Sourceattribution|NGC 4656 and NGC 4657}}