NGC 4302 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located approximately 55 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It is famously part of a “starry pair” alongside its companion galaxy. NGC 4298 is tilted more face-on from our perspective.
NGC 4302 and NGC 4298 are both members of the Virgo Cluster, a massive collection of nearly 2,000 galaxies. Although they appear close together, astronomers have found no strong evidence of significant gravitational tidal interaction between them. Instead, faint tails of gas are streaming away from both galaxies. These tails are likely caused by ram pressure. This “wind” is encountered as they fall toward the center of the Virgo Cluster.
Imaged from my driveway in western North Carolina. I use APT for session management and automation. PixInsight for subframe processing.
