Astronomy Picture of the Day · April 17, 2008

Messier 63: The Sunflower Galaxy

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 17, 2008 is “Messier 63: The Sunflower Galaxy,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Credit & Copyright: Tony Hallas). The original explanation runs about 135 words.

From the 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, about the size of our own Milky Way .”

— APOD editors, April 17, 2008

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: April 17, 2008
Type: Image
Credit: Credit & Copyright: Tony Hallas
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 135 words

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Topics in this entry

The Milky Way Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: April 17 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, April 17, 2008 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2008-april-17-messier-63-the-sunflower-galaxy

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.