Also called the Black Eye Galaxy, Messier 64 was discovered by Edward Pigott in March 1779 and later cataloged by astronomers Charles Messier the following year.
Located in the constellation Coma Berenice, it has a diameter of 54,000 light years . As it is approximately 17 million light years away and thanks to an apparent magnitude of 9.8, Messier 64 can be observed with a medium-sized telescope.
It is easily identifiable by the spectacular dark band of dust that partially obscures its bright core.
The galaxy exhibits a strange internal motion that the astronomers at the Hubble telescope explain this way: "The gas in the outer regions of this galaxy and the gas in its inner regions are spinning in opposite directions, which could be related to a recent merger. " clarify members of the Hubble science team."
"New stars are forming in the region where gases that spin in the opposite way collide, compress, and then contract."
Reference: NASA / ESA / HUBBLE
