Go / no go for deep skyGo / no go for deep sky imaging
Black Eye Galaxy (M64)
spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices
The Black Eye Galaxy is a bright spiral in Coma Berenices with a dark band of dust crossing one side of its core, which looks like a black eye. Its outer gas rotates in the opposite direction to the inner disc, a trace of a past galaxy merger.
Save your telescope or lens on the planner to lay your camera frame over this diagram.
// Key facts
- Catalog
- M64
- Type
- spiral galaxy
- Constellation
- Coma Berenices
- Size
- 10′ across
- Brightness
- Magnitude 8.5
- Distance
- about 17 million light-years
- Peak month (any location)
- Apr
- Typical prime months
- Jan to Jun
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- 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 Black Eye Galaxy
- At 10 arcminutes, 1,000 to 1,500 mm shows the dust lane clearly.
- The bright core and dust lane make it a rewarding target even from a suburban site.
- It is high in the sky on spring evenings from northern latitudes.
Framing: what focal length?
M64 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 12% |
| 2,000 mm | about 25% |
| 3,000 mm | about 37% |
How high does it climb from your latitude?
The highest point M64 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) | 57° | Workable |
| 45°N (Minneapolis, Milan) | 67° | High in the sky |
| 35°N (Los Angeles, Tokyo) | 77° | High in the sky |
| 25°N (Miami, Cairo) | 87° | High in the sky |
| 35°S (Sydney, Santiago) | 33° | Workable |
Also worth imaging
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