Astronomy Picture of the Day · July 12, 2017

Messier 63: The Sunflower Galaxy

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for July 12, 2017 is “Messier 63: The Sunflower Galaxy,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Data – Hubble Legacy Archive , Subaru Telescope (NAOJ) , Don Goldman Processing – Robert Gendler , Roberto Colombari , Don Goldman). The original explanation runs about 131 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.”

— APOD editors, July 12, 2017

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: July 12, 2017
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Data – Hubble Legacy Archive , Subaru Telescope (NAOJ) , Don Goldman Processing – Robert Gendler , Roberto Colombari , Don Goldman
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 131 words

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Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: July 12 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, July 12, 2017 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2017-july-12-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.