Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  M 63  ·  NGC 5055  ·  Sunflower galaxy
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The Sunflower Galaxy (M63) in LRGB, Josh Woodward
The Sunflower Galaxy (M63) in LRGB
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The Sunflower Galaxy (M63) in LRGB

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Sunflower Galaxy (M63) in LRGB, Josh Woodward
The Sunflower Galaxy (M63) in LRGB
Powered byPixInsight

The Sunflower Galaxy (M63) in LRGB

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Description

Messier 63 or M63, also known as NGC 5055 or the seldom-used Sunflower Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici. M63 was first discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain then later verified by his colleague Charles Messier on June 14, 1779. Wikipedia

Distance to Earth: 27 million light years

Radius: 49,000 light years

Apparent mass: ~110 billion M☉

Age: 13.28 billion years

Stars: 400 billion

I'm trying to push the integration times for my exposures. This time I went with 90" for Lum and 180" for RGB. This is also, by far, the longest integration that I've attempted.

L - 222x90" = 5.55 hours

R - 53x180" = 2.65 hours

G - 55x180" = 2.75 hours

B - 51x180" = 2.55 hours

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The Sunflower Galaxy (M63) in LRGB, Josh Woodward

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