Messier 63：向日葵星系

2019 June 6

梅西耶63：向日葵星系
图片来源及版权：Bernard Miller

说明：Messier 63是北部天空中一个明亮的螺旋星系，距离忠实的猎犬座(Canes Venatici)约2500万光年。这个宏伟的宇宙岛也被命名为NGC 5055，直径近10万光年。这大约是我们银河系的大小。M63由广受欢迎的绰号“向日葵星系”(Sunflower Galaxy)所命名，在这张清晰的望远镜拍摄的照片中呈现出明亮的黄色核心。它巨大的蓝色旋臂上布满了宇宙尘埃带，点缀着粉红色的恒星形成区域。M63是一个已知星系群的主要成员，它具有微弱的、延伸的特征，很可能是来自潮汐破坏的卫星星系的恒星流。M63在电磁光谱中闪耀，被认为经历了强烈的恒星形成爆发。

Messier 63: The Sunflower Galaxy
Image Credit & Copyright: Bernard Miller

Explanation: A bright spiral galaxy of the northern sky, Messier 63 is about 25 million light-years distant in the loyal constellation Canes Venatici. Also cataloged as NGC 5055, the majestic island universe is nearly 100,000 light-years across. That’s about the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy. Known by the popular moniker, The Sunflower Galaxy, M63 sports a bright yellowish core in this sharp telescopic portrait. Its sweeping blue spiral arms are streaked with cosmic dust lanes and dotted with pink star forming regions. A dominant member of a known galaxy group, M63 has faint, extended features that are likely star streams from tidally disrupted satellite galaxies. M63 shines across the electromagnetic spectrum and is thought to have undergone bursts of intense star formation.