2017-05-27 / Image Details (Click on image to enlarge)
galacticsights
astrophotography
Sunflower Galaxy, M63
Technical Details
| Location | Zollikerberg, Switzerland |
| Camera | Nikon DSLR D810A |
| Telescope | Skywatcher Quattro 8CF 200 DS Fibre OTA Newton Carbon |
| Special Lense | Skywatcher Newtonian F4 Coma Corrector |
| Mount | Skywatcher AZ-EQ6, EQASCOM, Stellarium |
| Autoguiding | Lacerta MGEN2 (Autoguiding, Dithering und Camera Control) |
| Camera Control | Digicamcontrol (Focus, Camera Control) |
| Lights | 50 x 120s (1h40'), ISO-1600, additional Biases, Flats, no Darks |
| Stacking Software | Pixinsight 1.8, Bayer Drizzle 2x |
| Image Processing | Pixinsight 1.8 |
The Sunflower Galaxy, M63 or NGC5055, is a famous spiral galaxy located in the northern constellation Canes Venatici. M63 was named Sunflower after its appearance, with a bright yellow central disc and a number of short spiral arm segments dotted with starburst regions and dust lanes. The Sunflower Galaxy lies roughly 37 million light years from Earth and occupies an area of 12.6 by 7.2 arc minutes, which corresponds to a spatial diameter of 98,000 light years or roughly the same size as the Milky Way. M63 has a mass 140 billion times that of the Sun.