M64 · Black Eye Galaxy
| Chinese name | 黑眼睛星系 |
|---|---|
| Type | Galaxy |
| Constellation | Com |
| RA | 12h57m |
| Dec | +21° |
| Apparent magnitude | 8.5ᵐ |
| Hemisphere | Northern |
| Best season | Spring |
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| Focal length | 长焦 1000mm+ |
About
The Black Eye Galaxy (M64) lies about 17 million light-years away in Coma Berenices, named for a striking dark dust band in front of its core that resembles a black eye, also called the Sleeping Beauty Galaxy. Its most peculiar feature is two disks rotating in opposite directions: an inner disk about 3,000 light-years in radius and an outer disk extending to roughly 40,000 light-years, with gas colliding and compressing at their boundary to trigger vigorous star formation. This counter-rotation likely arose from the merger of a small satellite galaxy about a billion years ago, and the signature dust lane is debris from that event not yet settled. Long-focal imaging emphasizes this unique "black eye," yielding strong, dramatic contrast.