Croc's Eye Galaxy (M94) (Ondřej Pešák)

Croc's Eye Galaxy (M94)

Galaxy M94, also known as NGC 4736, is a captivating spiral galaxy situated about 16 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. This galaxy is a stunning sight, showcasing a bright, compact core surrounded by two remarkable rings. The inner ring glows with intense star-forming regions, producing new stars at a rapid pace, while the more diffuse outer ring is populated by older, more mature stars.What makes M94 particularly intriguing is its unique structure. The inner ring is believed to be caused by a phenomenon known as a "starburst," where star formation occurs at an exceptionally high rate. This contrasts beautifully with the outer ring, creating a visual and scientific dichotomy that fascinates astronomers.In addition to its structural beauty, M94's relative proximity to Earth makes it a popular subject for both amateur and professional astronomers, providing rich opportunities for observation and study. Its combination of dynamic star-forming activity and elegant, ringed appearance makes M94 a standout object in the night sky.

Please note: The following tables are updated every 24 hours.

Distribution of astrophotographers

This table shows the number of distinct astrophotographers who have been assigned and IOTD/TP award compared to the total number of images awarded.
	Distinct awarded users	Total awarded images
Image of the day
Top picks
Top pick nominations

Distribution of subject types

This table shows the distribution of awards per subject type, compared to the popularity of images of that subject type.
	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Deep sky
Solar system
Extremely wide field
Star trails
Northern lights
Noctilucent clouds
Landscape

Distribution of data sources

This table shows the distribution of awards per data source, compared to the popularity of images acquired from that data source.
	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Backyard
Traveller
Own remote observatory
Amateur hosting facility
Public amaeteur data
Professional, scientific grade data
Mix of multiple sources
Other
Unknown

The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

Submitted The date and time when you submitted this image for IOTD/TP consideration.	...
Views by Submitters (available since September 19th, 2023) Every image is assigned to 50% of available Submitters. In the event that at least 80% of them don't view the image before its time in the IOTD/TP process expires, it's assigned to the other 50% of Submitters and the process begins anew.
Promotions by Submitters When 3 distinct Submitters promote the image, it moves on to the next stage of the process: evaluation for Top Pick status. This requirement, in addition to anonymization of images and distribution to only a subset of them, prevents biases and ensures that the best images are selected.
Promotions by Reviewers When 3 distinct Reviewers promote the image, it moves on to the next stage of the process: evaluation for IOTD status.
Early dismissal Staff members have a lot of images to inspect on a daily basis, and they can dismiss images if they believe they don't meet the requirements for IOTD/TP selection. If an image is dismissed 5 times, it's removed from the process. This streamlines the process and ensures that any bias present in promotions could be overruled by other staff members.

Status	n/a
Started	n/a
Astrometry.net job	n/a
PixInsight job	n/a
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	n/a

Image Index:

Contribution Index (beta):