M63 - Sunflower Galaxy
| Polish version is here |
Messier 63, also known as the Sunflower Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici. Discovered on June 14, 1779, by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain, it was later included in Messier’s catalog as M63. This galaxy lies approximately 27 million light-years from Earth and contains about 400 billion stars. With an apparent visual magnitude of 9.3, it is accessible for observation using small telescopes.
M63 is an example of a spiral galaxy characterized by numerous but fragmented spiral arms. Its central region features a bright, yellowish core surrounded by spiral arms filled with young, bluish stars and dark dust lanes. This structure resembles the pattern seen at the center of a sunflower, which inspired the galaxy’s popular name.
An interesting aspect of M63 is its LINER-type nucleus (Low-Ionization Nuclear Emission-line Region). Such nuclei exhibit ionized gas with a low degree of ionization, suggesting moderate activity in the galaxy's central region. Additionally, radio observations at a wavelength of 21 cm have revealed that M63’s gaseous disk extends approximately 40 kpc from the center, significantly beyond the bright optical disk. This disk is notably warped, which may indicate gravitational interaction with a smaller companion galaxy.
Observations
February 1, 2025, around midnight – Jaworzno (Poland), suburbs
moderate level of light pollution
On the same night, two hours after observing the Cat’s Eye Galaxy (M94), I pointed my telescope at the Sunflower Galaxy. Atmospheric conditions remained stable, and moderate light pollution allowed for clear imaging.
One supernova has been observed in M63: SN 1971I (Type Ia; 11.8m), discovered by Glenn Jolly on May 24, 1971, and independently by Roger Clark on May 29, 1971. It reached its maximum brightness around May 26 of the same year. Although its spectrum matched that of a Type I supernova, its behavior appeared somewhat unusual.
Photo 1 Parameters:
- Total exposure time: 90 minutes (stack of 90 RAW frames at 60s each, using an appropriate number of dark, bias, and flat frames)
- ISO: 1600
- Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope (100/1400), prime focus exposure
- A filter was used to reduce the effects of artificial light pollution and atmospheric glow
- Mount: equatorial mount with tracking, aligned using the drift method and controlled by a custom-built system.
Further readings:
- McQuinn K. B. W., Skillman E. D., Dolphin A. E., Berg D., Kennicutt R., Accurate Distances to Important Spiral Galaxies: M63, M74, NGC 1291, NGC 4559, NGC 4625, and NGC 5398, The Astronomical Journal, 2017, 154(2), str. 51
- Ann H. B., Seo M., Ha D. K., A Catalog of Visually Classified Galaxies in the Local (z ∼ 0.01) Universe, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 2015, 217(2), str. 27
- Deming D., Mumma M. J., Kafatos M., The Light Curve of Supernova 1971 I, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 1973, 85(505), str. 321
Marek Ples