Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  M 63  ·  NGC 5055  ·  Sunflower Galaxy
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The Sunflower Galaxy - M63, Massimo Di Fusco
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The Sunflower Galaxy - M63

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The Sunflower Galaxy - M63, Massimo Di Fusco
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The Sunflower Galaxy - M63

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Description

Messier 63 (also known as the Sunflower Galaxy, M63 and NGC 5055) is a spiral galaxy located in the northern constellation Canes Venatici. It lies roughly 37 million light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 9.3. 
The Sunflower Galaxy is a prototype for a class of galaxies known as flocculent spirals. It appears to have many spiral arms because the arms appear patchy and discontinuous. Flocculent spirals are the opposite of grand design spiral galaxies, which have a clearly defined spiral structure.
The Sunflower Galaxy was discovered by Charles Messier’s friend and colleague Pierre Méchain on June 14, 1779. This was the first deep sky object discovered by Méchain.

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