M63 (NGC 5055) Sunflower Galxay in the constellation Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs) (Phil Swift)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn) · Contains: M 63 · NGC 5055 · Sunflower Galaxy

M63 (NGC 5055) Sunflower Galxay in the constellation Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs), Phil Swift

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M63 (NGC 5055) Sunflower Galxay in the constellation Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs)

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M63 (NGC 5055) Sunflower Galxay in the constellation Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs)

Messier 63 is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici with approximately 400 billion stars.

It was first discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain, then later verified by his colleague Charles Messier on June 14, 1779 and was listed as object 63 in Messiers Catalogue.

In the mid-19th century, Anglo-Irish astronomer Lord Rosse identified spiral structures within the galaxy, making this one of the first galaxies in which such structure was identified.

The existence of a super massive black hole at the nucleus is uncertain; if it does exist, then the mass is estimated to be around 850 million times the mass of the Sun.

The distance to M63, based upon the luminosity-distance measurement is 29,300,000 light-years (8.99 megaparsecs).

M63 is part of the M51 Group, a group of galaxies that also includes M51 (the 'Whirlpool Galaxy').

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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.

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M63 (NGC 5055) Sunflower Galxay in the constellation Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs)

M63 (NGC 5055) Sunflower Galxay in the constellation Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs)

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M63 (NGC 5055) Sunflower Galxay in the constellation Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs)

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