螺旋星系M63

2023年5月19日

Curly Spiral Galaxy M63
Image Credit & Copyright: Sophie Paulin, Jens Unger, Jakob Sahner

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.

Tomorrow’s picture: Galileo’s Europa

螺旋星系M63
影像提供与版权: Sophie Paulin, Jens Unger, Jakob Sahner

版权: 位在猎犬座方向，离我们约3千万光年远的M63，是北半球天空的明亮螺旋星系之一。这个编录号为NGC 5055、跨幅将近100,000光年的壮丽宇宙岛，几乎和我们的银河系等大。在这幅极深空的影像里，除了可见到为它博得向日葵星系称号的明亮的核心及宏伟的螺旋臂之外，还可见到向外晕伸展的暗淡弧形恒星流。这些伸展到离星系核心约180,000光年远的结构，可能是M63以潮汐力撕碎其伴星系之后，所遗留下来的恒星流。在这幅极宽视野的影像里，还可见到M63的其他伴星系及昏暗的矮星系，在接下来的数十亿年之中，它们可能也会化身为恒星流。

明日的图片: Galileo’s Europa