A Delicate Spiral in a Sea of Stars: IC 4656
Set against an exceptionally dense star field in the constellation Ara, IC 4656 is a striking spiral galaxy located over 180 million light-years away. Quite a small object even in a one meter telescope; Its disk spans about 1.3 arcminutes across the sky, corresponding to a physical diameter of roughly 115,000 light-years—comparable to the Milky Way.
The galaxy displays a bright, dusty central bulge wrapped in tightly wound spiral arms, with subtle traces of star formation and a faint surrounding halo. Though not widely studied, IC 4656 reveals surprising depth and structure when viewed in detail.
The background is scattered with distant galaxies, while the foreground is filled with a rich tapestry of stars from our own Milky Way—reminding us of the layered beauty of the cosmos.
Imaged in LRGB and H alpha on my Planewave CDK 1000 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile.
Image acquisition and processing: Mike Selby