NGC 5170 is a large spiral galaxy seen edge on, situated 84 million light years away in Virgo.
The diameter of the galaxy is estimated to be 227,000 light years making it considerably larger than The Milky Way.
The galaxy has quite a small bulge but a very bright nucleus. The visible edges of the spiral arms indicate star formation regions, and there are numerous dust lanes evident.
PGC 47400 the irregular galaxy above NGC 5170 appears to be a dwarf companion galaxy. The smaller galaxy visible below PGC 47400 is PGC 875228 at an estimated distance of 680 million light years. Below NGC 5170 is PGC 873674 which also appears to be a satellite galaxy.
Imaged in LRGB on our Planewave CDK 1000 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile.
Image Processing: Mike Selby and Mark Hanson
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