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Canada based Astrophotographer Ronald Brecher has captured a stunning view of the Messier 63 or the ‘Sunflower Galaxy’ . Brecher’s deep-sky portrait reveals incredible detail in the arms of the spiral galaxy, the patterning and structure of which bear a striking resemblance to the head of a cosmic sunflower. M63 appears to be formed from many fragmented arms arranged around its bright core, as opposed to the well-defined, sweeping structures that characterize ‘grand design’ spiral galaxies like NGC 3631, or Bode’s Galaxy.

Imaging the Sunflower Galaxy

According to report by NASA, the M63 can be seen shining with the radiation cast out by a multitude of giant newly-birthed white-blue stars, the light from which travelled for some 27 million light-years to reach Earth.

Brecher imaged the Sunflower Galaxy from his backyard observatory near the city of Guelph in southwestern Ontario, Canada. He imaged it as the moon progressed towards its first quarter phase on the nights of April 17-28 using his Celestron 14″ EDGE HD telescope in conjunction with a monochrome astronomy camera, and a host of helpful peripherals. A little over 13 hours was spent capturing 158 exposures of the galaxy with red, green, blue and hydrogen-alpha filters, the data from which was processed using the astrophoto editing software PixInsight.

Observing M63 in the Night Sky

May happens to be the best month in which to view the Sunflower Galaxy, which will be visible as a faint smudge of light in smaller telescopes under good viewing conditions.

One way to locate the patch of sky containing M63 is to find the bright stars Arcturus, in the constellation Bootes, and Dubhe, which forms the pouring tip of the pan in the ‘Big Dipper’ asterism. The Sunflower Galaxy can be found half way between the two. Use a stargazing app if you need help finding the stars.

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Rocket Lab reached a key milestone with its 70th Electron rocket launch, successfully sending five secret satellites into orbit on Aug. 23, 2025. The mission, called “Live, Laugh, Launch,” lifted off from New Zealand and ended its live stream early at the request of the undisclosed customer. Rocket Lab now looks ahead to the debut of its larger Neutron rocket late…

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Researcher Photographs Giant Solar Tornado and Massive Plasma Eruption at the Same Time

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On August 20, researcher Maximilian Teodorescu captured a rare photo of two dramatic solar events — a giant tornado of plasma rising 130,000 km and an eruptive prominence spanning 200,000 km. Both were shaped by the sun’s unstable magnetic fields. While the prominence did release a CME, it is not aimed at Earth.

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