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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
wb_twilight Nautical TwilightWhat's Visible Now?
All Constellations »  Canes Venatici »  Deep Sky Objects » 

Messier 63 (Sunflower Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici

Altitude: 50.3°   Azimuth: 279.8°   Direction: West

Messier 63 is a Spiral Galaxy in the Canes Venatici constellation. Messier 63 is situated north of the celestial equator and, as such, it is more easily visible from the northern hemisphere.

The image below is a photograph of Messier 63 from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.39433333333333x0.39433333333333 degrees (23.66x23.66 arcmins).

Image of Messier 63 (Sunflower Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici star
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DSS2 image of Messier 63 in the Red band. The green region on the image is a representation of the major (11.83 arcmin) and minor (7.16 arcmin) axes of the object's apparent size.

Key facts about Messier 63

Messier 63
Galaxy
Canes Venatici

Messier 63 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 50.3°
Azimuth: 279.8°
Direction: West

See also Messier 63 rise and set times.

Given its visual magnitude of 8.59, Messier 63 is visible with the help of a binocular with a 60-70mm aperture or a small telescope.

Available Resources for Messier 63 (Sunflower Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici

Photometric information of Messier 63

The following table lists the magnitude of Messier 63 in different bands of the electomagnetic spectrum (when available), from the B band (445nm wavelength, corresponding to the Blue color), to the V band ( 551nm wavelength, corresponding to Green/Yellow color), to the J, H, K bands (corresponding to 1220nm, 1630nm, 2190nm wavelengths respectively, which are colors not visible to the human eye).

9.34
8.59
6.57
5.83
5.61

For more information about photometry in astronomy, check the photometric system article on Wikipedia.

The surface brightess reported below is an indication of the brightness per unit of angular area of Messier 63.

23.04 mag/arcsec2

Apparent size of Messier 63

The following table reports Messier 63 apparent angular size. The green area displayed on top of the DSS2 image of Messier 63 is a visual representation of it.
11.83 arcmin
7.16 arcmin
103°

Messier 63 (Sunflower Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici morphological classification

Messier 63 (Sunflower Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici is classified as Spiral (SAbc) according to the Hubble and de Vaucouleurs galaxy morphological classification. The diagram below shows a visual representation of the position of Messier 63 (Sunflower Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici in the Hubble de Vaucouleurs sequence.

Messier 63 (Sunflower Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici
Visualization of the morphological classification of Messier 63 (Sunflower Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici, Spiral (SAbc).
Credits for the background image: Antonio Ciccolella / M. De Leo / CC BY

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Messier 63

Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox of Messier 63 are provided in the following table:

13h 15m 48s
+42° 01’ 45”

The simplified sky charts below show the position of Messier 63 in the sky. The first chart has a field of view of 60° while the second one has a field of view of 10°.

Finder chart Messier 63 (Sunflower Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 63 (Sunflower Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici.

Finder chart Messier 63 (Sunflower Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 63 (Sunflower Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici.

Rise and set times of Messier 63 from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Messier 63 (Sunflower Galaxy) - Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici is circumpolar and transits at 01:27 UTC (altitude: 80.5°)