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The Whale and Pup NGC 4631 and 4627

in Coma Berenices was discovered by the great William Herschel in 1787. NGC 4631, the larger 'Whale' is an Sc-type  galaxy and one of the largest edge-on known to us.  Its highly irregular shape is due to distortion caused by its companion, the elliptical dwarf NGC 4627 called the 'Pup'. The two are interrelated as evidenced by a bridge of hydrogen gas between them. The Whale exhibits many blue knots indicating young massive stars, while the bright yellow of the central bulge is due to an old population of red giants. Note the many dark filaments of dust clouds running throughout. From an aesthetic point of view, can you see the red eyes and front fins of the whale's head at left?