Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  M 94  ·  NGC 4736
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M94 Croc's Eye Galaxy, Mike Cranfield
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M94 Croc's Eye Galaxy

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M94 Croc's Eye Galaxy, Mike Cranfield
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M94 Croc's Eye Galaxy

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Description

M94 is around 16 million light years away in the constellation Canes Venatici.  

It has a ring of intense star formation visible as a blue ring around its central oval-shaped region.  This starburst ring consists of many young bright stars and is probably formed by a pressure wave moving outwards from the galactic centre.  The resultant compressed material forms dense clouds which, under the pull of gravity, coalesce to allow star formation.

Apparently the rotation curves of M94's stars present something of a conundrum. A controversial 2008 study argued that M94 has very little dark matter as the ordinary luminous matter appears to account for its entire mass.  If confirmed, this would be at odds with current models of galactic formation.  However, the result is not universally accepted.  

In addition to M94 this image also shows a large number of other galaxies in the field of view.

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