{"id":57739,"date":"2024-04-16T13:28:24","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T13:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/42147b2b-524c-4074-ae55-d3c58b1a590e"},"modified":"2024-04-16T14:08:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T14:08:26","slug":"a-guide-to-the-glorious-springtime-jewel-known-as-the-sunflower-galaxy","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/a-guide-to-the-glorious-springtime-jewel-known-as-the-sunflower-galaxy\/","title":{"rendered":"A guide to the glorious springtime jewel known as the Sunflower Galaxy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Facts about and images of M63, also known as the Sunflower Galaxy. <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 16 April 2024 at 13:28 PM<\/p>

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Messier 63 is also known as the Sunflower Galaxy and is one of the most beautiful galaxies in the night sky, so-called due to the wispy spiral arms and bright centre that give it a floral appearance.<\/p>

It may be a spiral, but a closer look at pictures of the Sunflower Galaxy reveals that its spiral arms are not distinct, defined structures like those of the Whirlpool Galaxy<\/a>, for example.<\/p>

A Hubble Space Telescope image of the Sunflower Galaxy. Credit: ESA\/Hubble & NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Instead, it appears to have an indeterminate number of spiral arms bound closely together, and is what’s known as a flocculent spiral galaxy<\/a>.<\/p>

In fact, the Sunflower Galaxy only really has two spiral arms, but they are wound tightly round and round the galactic core, giving the impression of numerous arms.<\/p>

The galaxy’s tightly-wound arms and bright centre are what give the Sunflower Galaxy its floral appearance.<\/p>

These arms are peppered with hot young stars<\/a> glowing bright blue, indicating that this is very much an active galaxy and a region of rapid star formation.<\/p>

\"M63,
M63, The Sunflower Galaxy Kfir Simon, via Tivoli Astro Farm, Namibia, 8\u201313 June 2019. Equipment: Apogee Alta U16M CCD camera, 16-inch Dream Astrograph, Astelco NTM-500 mount<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The Sunflower Galaxy is located about about 27 million lightyears away from Earth and the Milky Way and can be seen in the constellation Canes Venatici<\/a>.<\/p>

It belongs to the M51 Group of galaxies, named after its brightest member, the aforementioned Whirlpool Galaxy.<\/p>

It was discovered by astronomer Pierre M\u00e9chain\u00a0in 1779 and was the first of 24 objects that the French astronomer would add to the famous catalogue created by Charles Messier, the Messier Catalogue<\/a>.<\/p>

The Sunflower is entry number 63 in the catalogue, which is why it’s known as M63 or Messier 63.<\/p>

How to locate the Sunflower Galaxy<\/strong><\/h2>
\"Chart
Chart showing the location of the Sunflower Galaxy. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Springtime is the best time to see the Sunflower Galaxy, and April is a great time to observe it.<\/p>

Spring is often referred to as Galaxy Season<\/a> because it’s so ripe for observing galaxies.<\/p>

You can find the Sunflower Galaxy by location Ursa Major and Canes Venatici, and use them to locate the Whirlpool Galaxy, M51.<\/p>

Look below this region and you’ll be able to pick it out with your telescope.<\/p>

What you’ll see<\/strong><\/h2>

The Sunflower Galaxy is 12.0 x 7.2 arcminutes and shines at mag. 9.3, and if you observe from a dark location, even a smaller telescope will reveal its flower-like spiral arms.<\/p>

Use decent magnification and you’ll be able to bring out the arms more, even under skies suffering from elements of light pollution.<\/p>

Don\u2019t be afraid to pump up the power to 150\u2013200x.<\/p>

\"Spitzer
Spitzer Space Telescope image of the Sunflower Galaxy Messier 63. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Pictures of the Sunflower Galaxy<\/strong><\/h2>

Below is a selection of images captured by astrophotographers and BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/em> readers.<\/p>

For help photographing galaxies, read our deep-sky astrophotography<\/a> guide or learn how to fine-tune your images with our tutorial on deep-sky image processing<\/a>.<\/p>

And don’t forget to send us your images<\/a> or share them with us via Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>

\"The
The Sunflower GalaxyRon Brecher, Guelph, Ontario, 29 January\u201311 May 2022Equipment: QHYCCD QHY367C camera, Takahashi FSQ106ED refractor, QHYCCD QHY600M camera, Sky-Watcher Esprit 150ED refractor, Paramount MX mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"A<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"M63,
M63, The Sunflower Galaxy Kfir Simon, via Tivoli Astro Farm, Namibia, 8\u201313 June 2019. Equipment: Apogee Alta U16M CCD camera, 16-inch Dream Astrograph, Astelco NTM-500 mount <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"M63:
M63: Star Streams and the Sunflower Galaxy, by Oleg Bryzgalov (Ukraine) Rozhen Observatory, Smolyan Province, Bulgaria, 6 April 2016 Equipment: QSI 583wsg CCD camera, 10-inch homemade reflector, White Swan 180 mount.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Sunflower
Sunflower Galaxy by Mark, Cheltenham, UK. Equipment: Astrotech 8″ RC, ZWO ASI 1600 Pro Mono<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"The
The Sunflower Galaxy by David Slack, Prudhoe, Northumberland, UK. Equipment: 8″ Celestron F5 Newtonian, SXV-H9 CCD, Canon 1100D DSLR, Sky Watcher HEQ5 pro mount.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Messier
Messier 63 – The Sunflower Galaxy by Ian Dunbar, UK. Equipment: Orion Optics VX10, Skywatcher AZ-EQ6-GT, Atik 314L , Baader RGB filters.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"M63,<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"M63
M63 by Dan Crowson, Animas, New Mexico, USA. Equipment: SBIG STF-8300M, Astro-Tech AT12RCT at f\/8 2432mm.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"M63
M63 by Dan Crowson, Missouri, USA. Equipment: SBIG ST-8300M, Astro-Tech AT90DT at f\/6.7 603mm.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"M63
M63 Sunflower galaxy and another faint galaxies, unguided. by Juan Pablo Trapero Revert, Vall d’Ebo, Alicante, Spain. Equipment: C9.25 S\/GT, SBIG ST-402ME, unguided CG-5, 0.63x focal reducer, Bahtinov mask for focusing.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"M63
M63 Sunflower Galaxy by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Celestron c11 sct, skywatcher NEQ6 pro mount, Atik 383L camera, motorised filter wheel and Astronomik LRGB filter set.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>