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Object of the Week June 18th, 2017 - M64 The Black Eye Galaxy
Object of the Week June 18th, 2017 – M64 The Black Eye Galaxy
M64
NGC4826
UGC8062
Coma Berenices
Galaxy
RA 12 56 43
DEC 21 40 58
Mag 8.8
Size 10.7x5.13
Class (R)SA(rs)ab
Discovered tangled deep within Berenices Hair on March 23rd, 1779 by Englishman Edward Pigott is M64, the Black Eye galaxy. On March 1st, 1780, Charles Messier found it himself and added it to his catalog, hence the M designation. A stunningly beautiful galaxy in a wide range of apertures, M64 is famous for its very obvious dark dust lane. More of a “band” than a lane, it’s this dark area that gives the object its most famous common name; a name given to it by none other than William Herschel when he first discovered the dust lane. The dark band superimposed over the relatively bright core gives the view some contrast and in an eyepiece, as well as photographs of course, it sure looks like the galaxy is sporting a black eye!
An interesting note about M64 is its two counter rotating disks. Possibly caused by a collision with a satellite galaxy over a billion years ago, M64 has regions that rotate in opposite directions to one another. The area where the two counter rotating disks meet is home to extensive star forming regions as confirmed by images taken in the infrared. Of the two separate disks, the inner one contains approximately 53% of the total mass and has a radius of 3500 light years. The outer disk contains 47% of the total mass of the galaxy but has a radius of over 36,000 light years! The densities of the two disks vary greatly and nearly all of the star forming regions are contained within the much more dense inner region, the blackeye of the galaxy. One final note. The outer region is actually slowing down. Studies suggest that this deceleration will continue for another billions years or so before the entire galaxy rotates in only one direction
And as always,
Give it a go and let us know!
Attachment 2596
Attachment 2597
