Sunflower Galaxy (M63, NGC 5055)

The Sunflower Galaxy.
Image courtesy Richard Crisp

A spiral galaxy (type Sb or Sc) in Canes Venatici that appears to lie in the M51 Group dominated by the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51); it was discovered in 1779 by Pierre Méchain. The Sunflower's spiral arms show up as a grainy background, which brightens slowly at first, going in from the periphery, but then rapidly to the nuclear region. It hosted a Type I supernova (1971I), first seen on May 25, 1971, which reached magnitude 11.8.

visual magnitude	8.6
apparent size	10' × 6'
distance	~37,000,000 light-years
position	R.A. 13h 15.8m, Dec. +42h 2m

Related categories

• GALAXIES
• MESSIER CATALOGUE

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