Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  IC 3808  ·  M 94  ·  NGC 4736
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M94, Kirby Collins
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M94

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M94, Kirby Collins
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M94

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Description

The constellation Canes Venatici (the "Hunting Dogs") occupies the area between Ursa Major and Coma Berenices.  Although the constellation is small and not well known, it contains a number of clusters and bright galaxies, including four Messier objects.  M94 is a bright, nearly circular spiral galaxy first discovered by Mechain in 1781.  Visible face-on, it has a bright central region with tightly wound arms, surrounded by a fainter set of spirals perhaps 6' in diameter, and finally a third very faint ring well outside the main body.

M94 is 16 million light years away, giving a diameter for the bright central region of about 30,000 light years (much smaller than the Milky Way at 100,000 light years).  It is notable in that its rotation as a function of distance from its center indicates it has very little dark matter.

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M94, Kirby Collins