Today's Amateur Astronomy Photo of the Day:

Whale Galaxy (NGC 4631), and Hockey Stick Galaxy (NGC 4656), are two interacting galaxies in the Canes Venatici constellation, about 25-30 million light-years from Earth. NGC 4631 is an edge-on spiral galaxy with a diameter of about 80,000 light-years and intense star-forming regions, while NGC 4656, irregular and distorted, shows signs of gravitational interactions with its companion. Both are part of a group that also includes the dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 4627, located near NGC 4631.