M63

M63 = NGC5055 ( 13h 15.8m +42°02´, 8.6 mag. )
Sunflower Galaxy in Canes Venatici was discovered by Mechain in 1779 and Messier observed it on June 14 same year. It is located about 23.5 million ly away and measures 86,000 ly across.

M63 The Sunflower Galaxy
Description: spiral galaxy
Constellation: Canes Venatici
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M63 is sometimes called the Sunflower Galaxy, by its numerous arms, which Burnham describes as "reminiscent of showers of sparks thrown out by a rotating fiery pinwheel". Fairly bright, at 8.1 magnitude, it has a very condensed centre.

M63 (NGC 5055, Sunflower Galaxy)
M64 (NGC 4826, Black Eye Galaxy)
M74 (NGC 628, spiral galaxy)
M76 (NGC 650, Little Dumbbell Nebula)
M80 (NGC 6093, globular cluster)
M81 (NGC 3031, spiral galaxy)
M82 (NGC 3034, companion to M81) ...

Located within in the constellation of Canes Venatici is M63, a spiral galaxy also known as the Sunflower Galaxy. It earned this name due to its sunflower-like appearance. It was originally discovered in 1779 by Messier's friend, Pierre Mechain.

You can find this elongated galaxy 66 degrees above the horizon, and about 2 1/2 degrees north of M63. Brighter than the last object we viewed, M94 appears nearly as large.

M63 The Sunflower Galaxy (spiral galaxy)
M94 (spiral galaxy)
M106 (spiral galaxy)
These are the Hunting Dogs (no relation to Orion's dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor) held on a leash by Boötes as he hunts for the bears Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

Another beautiful deep sky object in Canes Venatici is the Sunflower Galaxy M63. It is located about 9 degrees away from the tip of the handle of the Big Dipper. You will probably need dark skies and a 6-inch scope to view it consistently.

Other galaxies in Canes Venatici include the Sunflower Galaxy (M63 or NGC 5055), Spiral Galaxy M94, and Spiral Galaxy M106, ...

is one of the brightest of its class, lying near the border with Bootes and Coma Berenices, M51 or the Whirlpool Nebula, which is in fact a pair of spiral galaxies, the much larger NGC 5194 and its companion galaxy NGC 5195, the spiral galaxy M63 or ...

The Whirlpool Nebula (M51), the Sab galaxy (M94), the Sunflower Galaxy (M63), and the globular cluster M3 (magnitude 6) can be found in Canis Venatici. The Canes Venaticids occurs from January 13 - January 30.

The spiral galaxy M63, also known as Sunflower Galaxy, has been discovered in 1779 by Pierre Mechain. The whole appearance is somewhat grainy.
The Sab galaxy M94 shows an extremely bright core.

The following objects are located within Our Supercluster but not within the Local Group; they are objects 100,000,000 light-years to 10,000,000 light-years from the Sun: M49, M51, M58, M59, M60, M61, M63, M64, M65, M66.

Topic: Astronomy