NGC 5866

NGC 5866 was most likely discovered by Pierre Méchain or Charles Messier in 1781, and independently found by William Herschel in 1788.

Measured orbital velocities of its globular cluster system[6] imply that dark matter makes up only 34%±45% of the mass within 5 effective radii, a notable paucity.

One of the most outstanding features of NGC 5866 is the extended dust disk, which is seen almost exactly edge-on.

[7] This dust lane is highly unusual for a lenticular galaxy.

The dust in most lenticular galaxies is generally found only near the nucleus and generally follows the light profile of the galaxies' bulges.