Posted on 12/04/2020 2:41:01 PM PST by MtnClimber
Explanation: A bright spiral galaxy of the northern sky, Messier 63 is nearby, about 30 million light-years distant toward the loyal constellation Canes Venatici. Also cataloged as NGC 5055, the majestic island universe is nearly 100,000 light-years across, about the size of our own Milky Way. Its bright core and majestic spiral arms lend the galaxy its popular name, The Sunflower Galaxy, while this exceptionally deep exposure also follows faint, arcing star streams far into the galaxy's halo. Extending nearly 180,000 light-years from the galactic center the star streams are likely remnants of tidally disrupted satellites of M63. Other satellite galaxies of M63 can be spotted in this remarkable wide-field image, made with a small telescope, including five newly identified faint dwarf galaxies, which could contribute to M63's star streams in the next few billion years.
The constellations are the products of people's wild imaginations.
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“Canes Venatici is one of the 88 official modern constellations. It is a small northern constellation that was created by Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century. Its name is Latin for ‘hunting dogs’, and the constellation is often depicted in illustrations as representing the dogs of Boötes the Herdsman, a neighboring constellation.”
Maybe you would have better luck hunting snipe and wumpi than Messiers. At least you wouldn’t have to wait as long to see your results.
Thanks for posting!
I know that these are color enhanced , but that makes the pictures but these are absolutely beautiful and awesome to look at!
Here is something about our own galaxy! (If you want to, turn it into a separate post!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfbes8K6IZM&feature=emb_logo
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