Sunflower Galaxy (Darius Kopriva)

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

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Sunflower Galaxy

Link: https://dako-astrophotography.com/Image/44sizl

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Sunflower Galaxy

Link: https://dako-astrophotography.com/Image/44sizl

Messier 63, also known as the Sunflower Galaxy, is a stunning spiral galaxy located approximately 37 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was first discovered by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain in 1779 and later added to the Messier Catalog by Charles Messier himself.

One of the most striking features of Messier 63 is its beautiful spiral arms that resemble the pattern of a sunflower, hence its popular name. These arms are filled with numerous bright, young blue stars, which give the galaxy a vibrant appearance. The interstellar dust and gas present in the arms also create lanes of dark dust, adding further contrast to the galaxy's structure.

The Sunflower Galaxy has a relatively small and compact nucleus compared to other spiral galaxies, and it is believed to contain a supermassive black hole at its center. This black hole exerts a gravitational pull on the surrounding stars and gas, contributing to the dynamics of the galaxy.

With an apparent magnitude of around 9.3, Messier 63 is visible through amateur telescopes under dark skies. It spans approximately 100,000 light-years in diameter, making it similar in size to our Milky Way galaxy. Its proximity and relatively bright appearance make it a popular target for astrophotography enthusiasts.

Overall, Messier 63, the Sunflower Galaxy, stands out as a captivating example of a spiral galaxy, showcasing the intricate beauty of the cosmos and providing a window into the vastness of our universe.

Southern Hemisphere Astro

Please note: The following tables are updated every 24 hours.

Distribution of astrophotographers

This table shows the number of distinct astrophotographers who have been assigned and IOTD/TP award compared to the total number of images awarded.
	Distinct awarded users	Total awarded images
Image of the day
Top picks
Top pick nominations

Distribution of subject types

This table shows the distribution of awards per subject type, compared to the popularity of images of that subject type.
	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Deep sky
Solar system
Extremely wide field
Star trails
Northern lights
Noctilucent clouds
Landscape

Distribution of data sources

This table shows the distribution of awards per data source, compared to the popularity of images acquired from that data source.
	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Backyard
Traveller
Own remote observatory
Amateur hosting facility
Public amaeteur data
Professional, scientific grade data
Mix of multiple sources
Other
Unknown

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.

Submitted The date and time when you submitted this image for IOTD/TP consideration.	...
Views by Submitters (available since September 19th, 2023) Every image is assigned to 50% of available Submitters. In the event that at least 80% of them don't view the image before its time in the IOTD/TP process expires, it's assigned to the other 50% of Submitters and the process begins anew.
Promotions by Submitters When 3 distinct Submitters promote the image, it moves on to the next stage of the process: evaluation for Top Pick status. This requirement, in addition to anonymization of images and distribution to only a subset of them, prevents biases and ensures that the best images are selected.
Promotions by Reviewers When 3 distinct Reviewers promote the image, it moves on to the next stage of the process: evaluation for IOTD status.
Early dismissal Staff members have a lot of images to inspect on a daily basis, and they can dismiss images if they believe they don't meet the requirements for IOTD/TP selection. If an image is dismissed 5 times, it's removed from the process. This streamlines the process and ensures that any bias present in promotions could be overruled by other staff members.

Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	7793660
PixInsight job	1M3JDAY0KZCPG4I2KK22SFOP4IA8UPLA
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	13h15m54s.415
RA (top/left)	13h17m57s.511
RA (top/right)	13h17m58s.485
RA (bottom/right)	13h13m48s.492
RA (bottom/left)	13h13m52s.468

Dec (center)	+42°01′35″.14
Dec (top/left)	+41°25′46″.32
Dec (top/right)	+42°37′23″.90
Dec (bottom/right)	+42°37′20″.67
Dec (bottom/left)	+41°25′38″.33

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Sunflower Galaxy

Sunflower Galaxy

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