M63 - Sunflower Galaxy

Designations: M63, NGC 5055
Object Type: Spiral Galaxy
Constellation : Canes Venatici
RA: 13h 15.8 min
Dec: +42 deg 2 min

Visual Magnitude: 8.6
Size : 12.6 min X 7.2 min
Distance : 23.5 million light years
Discoverer : Pierre Mechain, 1779

Visual Description: In photographs, M63 looks like a spiral galaxy that has lost control of its gravity, and we are catching a rare sight of its arms being tossed into space. This spiral, which shines with the light of 10 billion suns, is a prime example of a type of galaxy that displays a lack of cohesion between its inner and outer arms. The inner region of M63's 86,000-light-year-wide disk is ringed by strong spiral structure, while the plentiful outer arms appear loose, patchy and haphazard. Not surprisingly, M63 is nicknamed the Sunflower Galaxy because of its resemblance to that towering plant whose dense, seedy head is ringed by an abundance of bright, overlapping petals.

IIf you look closely you can see several other small galaxies in this image. Most notable is PGC 46093 which is shown just to the right of M63 and PGC 45992 at the top right corner. Other small galaxies may be found beneath M63 in this image

Seeing Conditions: Good transparancey and average seeing

Telescope : TMB 152mm APO Refractor
Focal Length: 1200 mm
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Camera: SSBIG ST-10XME
Exposure: 9 X10minute exposures for luminance, 3 X10 minute exposures for red, green, and blue (90 minutes total for color)
Other: Autoguided by SBIG ST402ME

Image Processing: Processed with CCDStack and Photoshop CS

Telescope : Meade 10" LX200
Focal Length: 2500 mm
Mount: LX200
Camera: Starlight XPress MX916
Exposure: 900 seconds
Other: Autoguided by S.T.A.R 2000 autoguider

Image Processing: 2 images stacked and sharpened by unsharp mask

The Visual description of the M63 Sunflower Galaxy was writen by Steven James O'Meara in the book "The Messier Objects" by Stephen James O'Meara. Page. 188. ISBN number 0-521-55332-6.

Astro Images

doug@dougsastro.net