Messier 63 - the Sunflower Galaxy

By tammy-plotner - December 11, 2017 at 1:22 PM UTC | Extragalactic

Welcome back to Messier Monday! Today, we continue in our tribute to our dear friend, Tammy Plotner, by looking at the "Sunflower Galaxy", otherwise known as Messier 63.

In the 18th century, while searching the night sky for comets, French astronomer Charles Messier kept noting the presence of fixed, diffuse objects he initially mistook for comets. In time, he would come to compile a list of approximately 100 of these objects, hoping to prevent other astronomers from making the same mistake. This list – known as the

Messier Catalog

– would go on to become one of the most influential catalogs of Deep Sky Objects.

One of these objects is the spiral galaxy known as Messier 63 - aka. the Sunflower Galaxy. Located in the

Canes Venatici

constellation, this galaxy is located roughly 37 million light-years from Earth and has an active nucleus. Messier 63 is part of the M51 Group, a group of galaxies that also includes

Messier 51

(the 'Whirlpool Galaxy'), and can be easily spotted using binoculars and small telescopes.

Description:

Messier 63 is what is known as a a flocculent spiral galaxy, consisting of a central disc surrounded by many short spiral arm segments - one not connected by a central bar structure. Drifting along in space some 37,000 light years from our own galaxy, we known it interacts gravitationally with M51 (the Whirlpool Galaxy) and we also know that its outer regions are rotating so quickly that if it weren't for dark matter - it would rip itself apart.

[caption id="attachment_138051" align="aligncenter" width="580"]

Infrared image of the Sunflower Galaxy (Messier 63) taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SINGS Team[/caption]

As Michele D. Thornley and Lee G. Mundy, of the Maryland University Department of Astronomy, indicated in a

1997 study

:

There very well could be a massive object hidden within. As Sebastien Blais-Ouellette of the Universite de Montreal said in a

1998 study

:

[caption id="attachment_138052" align="aligncenter" width="580"]

Infrared image of the M63 galaxy made by Médéric Boquien, using data retrieved on the SINGS project public archives of the Spitzer Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

[/caption]

But that's not all they've found either... How about a lopsided, chemically unbalanced nucleus! As V.L. Afanasiev (et al) pointed out in their

2002 study

:

Yep. It might be beautiful, but it's warped. As G. Battaglia of the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute indicated in a

2005 study

:

[caption id="attachment_138053" align="aligncenter" width="580"]

Sunflower Galaxy (Messier 63). Credit: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona

[/caption]

History of Observation:

Messier Object 63 was the very first discovery by Charles Messier's friend and assistant Pierre Mechain, who turned it up on June 14, 1779. While Mechain himself did not write the notes, Messier did:

Messier 63 would go on to be observed and resolved by Sir William Herschel and cataloged by his son John. It would be descriptively narrated by Admiral Symth and exclaimed over by many astronomers - one of the best of which was Lord Rosse: "Spiral? Darkness south flowing nucleus." Of all the descriptions, perhaps the best belongs to Curtis, who first photographed it with the Crossley Reflector at Lick Observatory: "Has an almost stellar nucleus. The whorls are narrow, very compactly arranged, and show numerous almost stellar condensations."

Locating Messier 63:

The beautiful Sunflower Galaxy is among one of the easiest of the Messier objects to find. It's located almost precisely between Cor Caroli (Alpha Canes Venetici) and Eta Ursa Majoris. With the slightest of optical aid, stars 19, 20 and 23 CnV will show easily in finderscope or binoculars and M63 will be positioned right around two degrees away towards Eta UM.

[caption id="attachment_138050" align="aligncenter" width="580"]

The location of Messier 63 in the Canes Venatici constellation. Credit: IAU/Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg)

[/caption]

While this spiral galaxy has a nice overall brightness, it's going to be very faint for binoculars, only showing as the tiniest contrast change in smaller models. However, even a modest telescope will easily see a faint oval shape with a concentrated nucleus. The more aperture you apply, the more details you will see. As size approaches 8" and larger, expect to see spiral structure!

Power up... And look for the spiral in the Sunflower!

Object Name

Messier 63

Alternative Designations

M63, NGC 5055, Sunflower Galaxy

Object Type

Type Sb Spiral Galaxy

Constellation

Canes Venatici

Right Ascension

13 : 15.8 (h:m)

Declination

+42 : 02 (deg:m)

Distance

37000 (kly)

Visual Brightness

8.6 (mag)

Apparent Dimension

10x6 (arc min)

We have written many interesting articles about Messier Objects here at Universe Today. Here's Tammy Plotner's

Introduction to the Messier Objects

,

M1 – The Crab Nebula

, and David Dickison's articles on the

2013

and

2014

Messier Marathons.

Be to sure to check out our complete

Messier Catalog

. And for more information, check out the

SEDS Messier Database

.

Sources: