NGC 5866 is a lenticular galaxy lying about 50 million light-years from Earth. It is rare among lenticular galaxies in that it is bisected by a dust lane, as lenticular are usually devoid of dust. Lenticulars are thought to be a transitional form between spiral and elliptical galaxies that occurs as spiral and dwarf galaxies merge and eventually evolve into an elliptical galaxy. Another striking feature in this image is the extended halo surrounding the lenticular galaxy, which strong evidence of recent merging with other galaxies and the dust may be a remnant of recent merging. There is considerable evidence that NGC 5866 may be the missing M102 from Charles Messier's catalog and he simply made errors when recording its position. NGC 5866 is such a bright compact object that it is difficult to believe Messier could have missed it. The galaxy partially appearing at lower left is NGC 5870.

Exposures: L:R:G:B = 450:100:90:100 minutes = 12 hours, 20 minutes total exposure at f/11.