NGC 4657 (also IRAS 12417 +3228) is a magnitude +12.4 irregular galaxy located 40 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. The galaxy can be found about 4.5 degrees NE of the star gamma Comae Berenices. The galaxy is a satellite of NGC 4656. Together, they form a galaxy pair, called the Hockey Stick Galaxies. The curved north-eastern part of the 'Hockey Stick' is the galaxy NGC 4657. NGC 4657 and NGC 4656 are part of the poorly defined NGC 4631 Group, and also a member of the Coma I galaxies, which is approaching the Virgo Cluster, and will end up merging with it in the distant future.
The galaxy was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel using a 47.5 cm (18.7 inch) f/13 speculum reflector at Windsor Road, Slough, on the 20th March 1787.
Right ascension 12h 44m 06.9s, Declination +32° 12' 33"
