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Sunflower Galaxy (M63)
spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici
The Sunflower Galaxy is a spiral in Canes Venatici with a bright core and many fine, woolly arm segments. Very deep images reveal faint streams of stars around it, the remains of smaller galaxies that it has absorbed.
Save your telescope or lens on the planner to lay your camera frame over this diagram.
// Key facts
- Catalog
- M63
- Type
- spiral galaxy
- Constellation
- Canes Venatici
- Size
- 13′ across
- Brightness
- Magnitude 8.6
- Distance
- about 29 million light-years
- Peak month (any location)
- Apr
- Typical prime months
- Jan to Jun
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Filter
- No filter (broadband); a light-pollution filter is optional
Pick a saved location or share your device location. Your coordinates are used only to calculate tonight and are not stored. To save locations, use the planner.
How to image Sunflower Galaxy
- At 13 arcminutes, 1,000 to 1,500 mm suits it.
- Deep exposures under a dark sky reveal the faint outer glow, so total integration time is the main lever.
- It is high in the sky on spring evenings from northern sites.
Framing: what focal length?
M63 is small, so a "60% of the frame" focal length would be impractical. Here is how much of an APS-C frame it covers at common long focal lengths; expect to crop.
| Focal length | Share of the frame width |
|---|---|
| 1,000 mm | about 16% |
| 2,000 mm | about 32% |
| 3,000 mm | about 48% |
How high does it climb from your latitude?
The highest point M63 reaches in the sky. Above about 60° is excellent, 30° to 60° is workable, and under 30° you are looking through a lot of air.
| Latitude | Highest point | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 55°N (Scotland, Alaska) | 77° | High in the sky |
| 45°N (Minneapolis, Milan) | 87° | High in the sky |
| 35°N (Los Angeles, Tokyo) | 83° | High in the sky |
| 25°N (Miami, Cairo) | 73° | High in the sky |
| 35°S (Sydney, Santiago) | 13° | Stays low |
Also worth imaging
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