When we look at this galaxy we seeing it edge on so it appears very long and thin. On close inspection we can see the central bulge of the galaxy and also the dark dust lane that absorbs the star light from the galaxies millions of stars that lay behind it from our point of view. It is said that our own galaxy would look the same from a similar position.

200mm F5 Newtonian telescope on a EQ 5 mount. Starlight Xpress MX716 CCD camera

34x30 seconds exposures. Processed with Starlight Xpress software and Astromix