Posted on 05/19/2023 1:39:21 PM PDT 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. 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 the remarkable wide-field image, including faint dwarf galaxies, which could contribute to M63's star streams in the next few billion years.
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
Do the other Stooges have galaxies named for them?
Wow 🤩.
Yes, we will soo discover galaxy Moe.
I hope so. As long as the Mo galaxy is not Ho-Mo galaxy then I am good.
That is gorgeous. When I first got into this hobby the professional observatories weren’t even putting out images like this.🙂🔭
Oh no! That looks like God is giving the white racist “Okay” sign!
Seriously, though, that’s an absolutely stunning image. Thanks for posting it!
“Oh no! That looks like God is giving the white racist “Okay” sign!”
Thanks for the laugh.
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