Black eye Galaxy, M64 or NGC4826 (Timothy Prospero)

Black eye Galaxy, M64 or NGC4826

The galaxy M64, also known as NGC 4826 or 'Black Eye Galaxy', is a spiral galaxy in the constellation of Berenice's Coma. It is one of the celestial objects in Messier's catalogue, compiled by the French astronomer Charles Messier in the 18th century.

Here are some key characteristics of M64:

Distance: M64 is about 17 million light-years from Earth.
Appearance: The galaxy is called the 'Black Eye' because a band of dark dust overlaps part of its bright core, making it visible as a dark spot in the northern hemisphere of the galaxy. This gives the impression of a bruised eye.
Structure: It is a spiral galaxy with a bright core and well-defined spiral arms. A peculiar feature of M64 is the presence of two counter-rotating systems. The stars in the core of the galaxy rotate in one direction, while the gas in the outer regions rotates in the opposite direction. This feature is quite unusual and suggests that M64 may have interacted with another galaxy in the past.
Dimensions: The diameter of M64 is estimated to be about 54,000 light-years, which is about half the diameter of the Milky Way.
Luminosity: The apparent magnitude of M64 is about 8.5, which makes it visible with small amateur telescopes. However, its detailed structure is best observed with more powerful instruments.
Discovery: M64 was first discovered by the British astronomer Edward Pigott in 1779 and independently rediscovered by Johann Elert Bode in the same year. Charles Messier added it to his catalogue in 1780.
The galaxy M64 is an interesting subject for us as amateur astronomers, but also for professionals, due to its unique characteristics and its accessibility for observation with medium-sized telescopes.

Took this shot from nerpio, Spain using my C11HD telescope, around 5hrs total integration time.

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	9872348
PixInsight job	RCO2J432V8T1YA1C6IL37E7FWVCXQ08Z
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	12h56m41s.215
RA (top/left)	12h57m40s.366
RA (top/right)	12h57m17s.879
RA (bottom/right)	12h55m41s.727
RA (bottom/left)	12h56m04s.772

Dec (center)	+21°40′36″.35
Dec (top/left)	+21°25′41″.55
Dec (top/right)	+21°59′03″.69
Dec (bottom/right)	+21°55′31″.55
Dec (bottom/left)	+21°22′09″.13

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