PGC 62964 – A Spiral Galaxy Hiding Its Arms Behind an Edge-On Veil
PGC 62964 lies about 68 million light-years away in the constellation Telescopium. Classified as an Sb spiral galaxy, it appears nearly edge-on in my image, with a bright central bulge and a thin, elongated disk. Because of this edge-on view, its spiral arms aren’t fully visible, though one end shows a distinct blue region, suggesting localized star formation or asymmetry in its disk.
It measures roughly 90,000 × 18,000 light-years across, based on its apparent size of about 4.5 × 0.9 arcminutes. A faint halo surrounds it, hinting at tidal features or an extended stellar envelope.
At the top right of the frame is PGC 62949, also around 68 million light-years away.
It’s a smaller spiral galaxy, about 26,000 × 12,000 light-years in size, spanning roughly 1.3 × 0.6 arcminutes in the sky. Its more face-on orientation reveals subtle spiral structure and a soft glow suggesting ongoing star formation.
Both galaxies sit in a field dotted with background galaxies, offering a glimpse into the rich structures populating the universe
Imaged in LRGB on my Planewave CDK 1000 at Observatorio El Sauce, Chile.
Image acquisition and processing: Mike Selby