The Sunflower Galaxy (M63) is a spiral galaxy about 27 million light-years away in Canes Venatici. Its many short, patchy arms resemble the petals of a flower, and the faint streams of stars around it are thought to be traces of smaller galaxies it has absorbed.
Unlike the two bold arms of a grand-design spiral, M63 has a "flocculent" structure of many short, woolly arms. It measures about 100,000 light-years across, similar to the Milky Way. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1779 and added to Messier's catalogue soon after.
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The Sunflower Galaxy (M63)
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