How to photograph the Needle Galaxy (NGC 4565)
A thin, edge-on spiral with a dust lane running its full length.
Photo byKen Crawford(CC BY-SA 3.0)
When to shoot it from your location
About the Needle Galaxy
The Needle is one of the best edge-on galaxies in the sky. Its long, narrow shape and dark lane fill the frame well at 800mm and up.
Gear and framing
The Needle Galaxy spans about 16′ of sky. It frames best with:
- Long focal length (800mm and up)
You can see how other people have built their rigs on RigDesigner, including my Sony a6700 and 60mm refractor rig.
Filters
This is a broadband target, which means its light is mostly starlight across the whole spectrum. Shoot it with no filter or a UV/IR cut filter. A broadband light pollution filter can help a little in the suburbs. Dual-band and narrowband filters block most of its light, so leave them off. Plan it for a moonless night at a dark site.
Tips
- Rotate the camera so the galaxy runs along the long axis of the sensor.
Processing
Stack your light frames with darks and flats, then remove the background gradient before stretching. AstroBake does all of this for you. Point it at your folders of raw frames, then adjust the result with live sliders.