Canes Venatici is one of the 88 constellations designated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It is a small northern constellation that was created by Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century. Its name is Latin for 'hunting dogs', and the constellation is often depicted in illustrations as representing the dogs of Boötes the Herdsman, a neighboring constellation.
NGC 4631 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. This galaxy's slightly distorted wedge shape gives it the appearance of a herring or a whale, hence its nickname. Because this nearby galaxy is seen edge-on from Earth, professional astronomers observe this galaxy to better understand the gas and stars located outside the plane of the galaxy.
The Sombrero Galaxy is a peculiar galaxy of unclear classification in the constellation borders of Virgo and Corvus, being about 9.55 megaparsecs from the Milky Way galaxy. It is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster. It has an isophotal diameter of approximately 29.09 to 32.32 kiloparsecs, making it slightly bigger in size than the Milky Way.
Messier 63 or M63, also known as NGC 5055 or the seldom-used Sunflower Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici with approximately 400 billion stars. M63 was first discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain, then later verified by his colleague Charles Messier on June 14, 1779. The galaxy became listed as object 63 in the Messier Catalogue. In the mid-19th century, Anglo-Irish astronomer Lord Rosse identified spiral structures within the galaxy, making this one of the first galaxies in which such structure was identified.
Messier 94 is a spiral galaxy in the mid-northern constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781, and catalogued by Charles Messier two days later. Although some references describe M94 as a barred spiral galaxy, the "bar" structure appears to be more oval-shaped. The galaxy has two ring structures.
The Sculptor Galaxy is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. The Sculptor Galaxy is a starburst galaxy, which means that it is currently undergoing a period of intense star formation.
NGC 4214 is a dwarf barred irregular galaxy located around 10 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. NGC 4214 is a member of the M94 Group.
NGC 4449, also known as Caldwell 21, is an irregular Magellanic type galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici, being located about 13 million light-years away. It is part of the M94 Group or Canes Venatici I Group that is relatively close to the Local Group hosting our Milky Way galaxy.
NGC 4889 is an E4 supergiant elliptical galaxy. It was discovered in 1785 by the British astronomer Frederick William Herschel I, who catalogued it as a bright, nebulous patch. The brightest galaxy within the northern Coma Cluster, it is located at a median distance of 94 million parsecs from Earth. At the core of the galaxy is a supermassive black hole that heats the intracluster medium through the action of friction from infalling gases and dust. The gamma ray bursts from the galaxy extend out to several million light years of the cluster.
NGC 5229 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is a member of the M51 Group although in reality it is relatively isolated from other galaxies. The galaxy's disc is somewhat warped and appears to consist of a series of interconnected clusters of stars from our vantage point on Earth. It is approximately 7 kiloparsecs in diameter and is about 13.7 billion years old.
NGC 5970 is a large barred-spiral galaxy located about 90 million light years away in the constellation Serpens Caput. It appears to have two satellite or companion galaxies. It is a member of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It was discovered on March 15, 1784, by the astronomer William Herschel.
NGC 4217 is an edge-on spiral galaxy which lies approximately 60 million light-years away in the constellation of Canes Venatici. It is a possible companion galaxy to Messier 106.
NGC 4138 is the New General Catalogue identifier for a lenticular galaxy in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici. Located around 52 million light years from Earth, it spans some 2.1 × 1.3 arc minutes and has an apparent visual magnitude of 11.3. The morphological classification of NGC 4138 is SA0+(r), indicating it lacks a bar formation and has tightly wound spiral arms with a ring-like structure around the nucleus. It has no nearby companion galaxies.
NGC 4861, also known as Arp 266, is a galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by William Herschel on May 1, 1785.
NGC 4608 is a barred lenticular galaxy located in the constellation of Virgo. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on March 15, 1784. At about 56 million light-years away, it is a member of the Virgo Cluster.
NGC 4522 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located about 60 million light-years away within the Virgo Cluster in the constellation Virgo. NGC 4522 is losing its molecular gas though ram-pressure stripping as it plows though the cluster at a speed of more than 10 million kilometres per hour. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer John Herschel on January 18, 1828.
NGC 4570 is an edge-on lenticular galaxy located about 57 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. NGC 4570 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 13, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.
NGC 4800 is an isolated spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici, located at a distance of 95 megalight-years from the Milky Way. It was discovered by William Herschel on April 1, 1788. The morphological classification of this galaxy is SA(rs)b, indicating a spiral galaxy with no visual bar at the nucleus (SA), an incomplete ring structure (rs), and moderately-tightly wound spiral arms (b). The galactic plane is inclined to the line of sight by an angle of 43°, and the long axis is oriented along a position angle of 25°. There is a weak bar structure at the nucleus that is visible in the infrared.
NGC 4324 is a lenticular galaxy located about 85 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by astronomer Heinrich d'Arrest on March 4, 1862. NGC 4324 has a stellar mass of 5.62 × 1010M☉, and a baryonic mass of 5.88 × 1010M☉. The galaxy's total mass is around 5.25 × 1011M☉. NGC 4324 is notable for having a ring of star formation surrounding its nucleus. It was considered a member of the Virgo II Groups until 1999, when its distance was recalculated and it was placed in the Virgo W Group.
NGC 4393 is a spiral galaxy about 46 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 11, 1785. It is a member of the NGC 4274 Group, which is part of the Coma I Group or Cloud.
