Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Jan 14, 2011 13:46:17 GMT -6
M64 - Black Eye Galaxy by the Hubble
This is just a cool shot.
hubblesite.org/gallery/album/pr2004004a/
A collision of two galaxies has left a merged star system with an unusual appearance as well as bizarre internal motions. Messier 64 (M64) has a spectacular dark band of absorbing dust in front of the galaxy's bright nucleus, giving rise to its nicknames of the "Black Eye" or "Evil Eye" galaxy.
Fine details of the dark band are revealed in this image of the central portion of M64 obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. M64 is well known among amateur astronomers because of its appearance in small telescopes. It was first cataloged in the 18th century by the French astronomer Messier. Located in the northern constellation Coma Berenices, M64 resides roughly 17 million light-years from Earth.
One can sense the power and presence of this galaxy and throw in a low continuous drone and you got a nice show going on. I have never targeted this object before, but it might make a nice object to see when it gets warmer.
If there are black holes in the center of galaxies, there must be a dimension where it's all vomited out, eh?....
