[iainl140285]

Originally Posted by Dantheman62

Explanation: Is our Galaxy this thin? We believe so. Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is likely similar to our own spiral galaxy, but viewed edge-on from far away. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop on many telescopic tours of the northern sky as it lies in the faint but well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. This sharp color image reveals the galaxy's bulging central core dominated by light from a population of older, yellowish stars. The core is dramatically cut by obscuring dust lanes which lace NGC 4565's thin galactic plane. NGC 4565 lies about 30 million light-years distant and spans over 100,000 light-years in diameter. Visible through a small telescope, some sky enthusiasts consider NGC 4565 to be a prominent celestial masterpiece Messier missed.

Something I've always wondered - Can anyone explain how we get such pictures looking AT our galaxy when no man made object has seemingly left out galaxy?

I can understand how we could see objects looking OUT from the galaxy but how have they managed to do the reverse? i.e. Looking at our galaxy from the outside...

Thanks
Iain