How to photograph the Sunflower Galaxy (M63)
A flocculent spiral with patchy arms like a sunflower’s seeds.
Photo byStephen Rahn(CC0)
When to shoot it from your location
About the Sunflower Galaxy
M63 has many short, fluffy arm segments. It is a good spring galaxy for 800mm and longer telescopes.
Gear and framing
The Sunflower Galaxy spans about 12′ of sky. It frames best with:
- Long focal length (800mm and up)
You can see how other people have built their rigs on RigDesigner, including my Sony a6700 and 60mm refractor rig.
Filters
This is a broadband target, which means its light is mostly starlight across the whole spectrum. Shoot it with no filter or a UV/IR cut filter. A broadband light pollution filter can help a little in the suburbs. Dual-band and narrowband filters block most of its light, so leave them off. Plan it for a moonless night at a dark site.
Tips
- Deep exposures show its faint outer stellar stream.
Processing
Stack your light frames with darks and flats, then remove the background gradient before stretching. AstroBake does all of this for you. Point it at your folders of raw frames, then adjust the result with live sliders.