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June 6: Albireo returns
By the time the sky is dark around 10 P.M. local daylight time, the constellation Canes Venatici is still more than 70° high in the west. The Hunting Dogs hold our target for tonight: M63, also known as the Sunflower Galaxy.
A great object for small telescopes, M63 can be found 5.3° northeast of magnitude 2.9 Cor Caroli, Canes Venatici’s alpha star. It’s part of the same galaxy group as M51 (the Whirlpool Galaxy), and lies less than 6° from this object. Because they are associated in space, both lie at roughly the same distance from Earth, some 30 million light-years away.
Glowing at magnitude 8.6, M63 has a bright, compact nucleus that appears almost pointlike, surrounded by a fainter, elongated halo stretching some 3’ across. Its spiral arms are quite challenging — even in a large amateur instrument — so don’t be concerned if you don’t see them in detail. If you do spy them, they may look patchy or grainy rather than smooth and filled-out, a testament to the galaxy’s classification as a flocculent (or “fluffy”) spiral.
Sunrise: 5:32 A.M.
Sunset: 8:27 P.M.
Moonrise: 12:53 A.M.
Moonset: 12:08 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (53%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.
