M63 (NGC 5055, the Sunflower Galaxy)
Constellation: CVn
Object Type: Galaxy
RA: 13h 15m 49s
Dec: +42° 1' 59"
Magnitude: 8.6
Recommended minimum aperture: 50mm
Charts for 70mm Binocular (4° aperture circle). Click on a chart to print it.
Location:
Place Cor Caroli (α Cvn) just outside the SW of the field of view of a 15x70 binocular. Near the left hand side is a little line of three 5th magnitude stars (19, 20 and 23 CVn). From 19, go 1° towards Mizar (ζ UMa), where you will find this magnitude 8.6 galaxy.
What You Should See:
M63, whose light has taken 37 million years to reach us, was one of the first to be identified as having a spiral structure. This is not visible in binoculars, where it appears as a short streak of mistiness extending approximately east-west.
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