A tilted spiral suspended in space, its dust-laced disk revealing depth rather than a simple edge
IC 4351 is an edge-on SA(s)b spiral galaxy in Hydra, viewed at a slight inclination that allows both its thin disk and internal structure to be seen simultaneously. The luminous central bulge rises smoothly from the midplane, while the disk extends outward in a long, uneven band crossed by a fragmented and slightly displaced dust lane, giving the galaxy a layered, three-dimensional appearance
At a distance of about 92.9 million light-years, IC 4351 spans approximately 8.6 × 1.5 arcminutes, corresponding to a physical diameter of around 71,600 light-years. This perspective compresses its spiral structure into a narrow profile, yet still reveals knotty, localized star-forming regions, visible as faint pink H II regions embedded along the disk, along with subtle blue stellar populations tracing younger stars
The dust lane is not smooth but clumpy and irregular, with variations in opacity that create a textured, almost turbulent structure along the midplane. The outer disk shows a slight asymmetry, with one side appearing more extended and diffuse, while the other is more sharply bounded. Surrounding the inner regions, a faint vertical thickening hints at a thicker stellar component beyond the main disk, adding to the sense of depth in this nearly edge-on view
Rather than a perfectly thin line, IC 4351 presents a more complex portrait—one where the compressed geometry of a spiral galaxy still reveals its internal structure, star formation, and layered composition
Imaged in LRGB on the ASA Astrosysteme AZ 1500 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile.
Image Acquisition and Processing: Mike Selby