Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  M 63  ·  NGC 5055  ·  Sunflower Galaxy
Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M63 Sunflower Galaxy ((Re-processed in PixInsight)), Tommy Mastro
M63 Sunflower Galaxy ((Re-processed in PixInsight))
Powered byPixInsight

M63 Sunflower Galaxy ((Re-processed in PixInsight))

Revision title: Rev1

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M63 Sunflower Galaxy ((Re-processed in PixInsight)), Tommy Mastro
M63 Sunflower Galaxy ((Re-processed in PixInsight))
Powered byPixInsight

M63 Sunflower Galaxy ((Re-processed in PixInsight))

Revision title: Rev1

Equipment

Loading...

Acquisition details

Loading...

Description

Star formation is one of the most important processes in shaping the universe. In addition to birthing new stars, it gives rise to planetary systems and plays a pivotal role in the evolution of galaxies. Yet there is still much that astronomers do not understand about this fundamental process. The driving force behind star formation is particularly unclear for a type of galaxy called a flocculent spiral. Unlike grand-design spiral galaxies, flocculent spiral galaxies do not have well defined spiral arms. Instead, they appear to have many discontinuous arms.M63, also known as the Sunflower galaxy, is one such flocculent spiral galaxy. Although it only has two arms, many appear to be winding around its yellow core. The arms shine with the radiation from recently formed blue stars and can be more clearly seen in infrared observations. By imaging flocculent spiral galaxies like M63, astronomers hope to gain a better understanding of how stars form in such systems.The Sunflower galaxy was discovered in 1779 by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain and was the first of 24 objects that Méchain would contribute to Charles Messier’s catalog. The galaxy is located roughly 27 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. It has an apparent magnitude of 9.3 and appears as a faint patch of light in small telescopes. The best time to observe M63 is during May. 

~NASA

Comments

Revisions

  • M63 Sunflower Galaxy ((Re-processed in PixInsight)), Tommy Mastro
    Original
  • Final
    M63 Sunflower Galaxy ((Re-processed in PixInsight)), Tommy Mastro
    F

F

Title: Rev1

Uploaded: ...

Sky plot

Sky plot

Histogram

M63 Sunflower Galaxy ((Re-processed in PixInsight)), Tommy Mastro