Home / Guides / Observing Black Eye Galaxy (M64)
Observing Black Eye Galaxy (M64)
The Black Eye Galaxy is a relatively isolated spiral galaxy 17 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. It was discovered by Edward Pigott in March 1779, and independently by Johann Elert Bode the following month, as well as by Charles Messier the next year.
What Black Eye Galaxy is
The Black Eye Galaxy is a relatively isolated spiral galaxy 17 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. It was discovered by Edward Pigott in March 1779, and independently by Johann Elert Bode the following month, as well as by Charles Messier the next year. A dark band of absorbing dust partially in front of its bright nucleus gave rise to its nicknames of the "Black Eye", "Evil Eye", or "Sleeping Beauty" galaxy. M64 is well known among amateur astronomers due to its form in small telescopes and visibility across inhabited latitudes.
How to observe it
This is a fainter target that rewards aperture and dark skies. A 150 mm or larger telescope from a site away from town lights shows it best, and averted vision helps.
It lies in the constellation Coma Berenices. To find it, learn the constellation first, then star-hop from its brighter stars with a finder or a wide-field eyepiece before switching to more magnification.
Magnification is your telescope's focal length divided by your eyepiece's focal length. For an extended object like this, start low to frame it, then step up in power only if the object takes it. Use the Fit My Telescope tool to see the exact magnification, true field and exit pupil each of your eyepieces gives.
How it looks at the eyepiece
What you see at the eyepiece is fainter and less colourful than a photograph, because the eye takes in light in an instant while a camera builds it up over minutes. Expect a grey glow rather than the vivid colours of an image, and let your eyes dark-adapt for at least twenty minutes to see the most.
Frame it at low to medium power first with a wide true field, then step up the magnification only if the object stays sharp and the sky is steady. The Fit My Telescope tool shows the magnification, true field of view and exit pupil each of your eyepieces gives in your telescope, so you can pick the one that frames the object best.
The object in NASA imagery
NASA has imaged this object. One example in the NASA Image and Video Library is titled Hidden Lair at the Heart of Galaxy NGC 1068, from JPL.
Galaxy NGC 1068 can be seen in close-up in this view from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. NuSTAR's high-energy X-rays eyes were able to obtain the best view yet into the hidden lair of the galaxy's central, supermassive black hole.
NASA imagery is in the public domain. What you see through an eyepiece is fainter and mostly grey, since the eye does not accumulate light the way a long-exposure camera does, but knowing an object's true shape helps you recognise it at the telescope.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Object type | spiral galaxy |
| Constellation | Coma Berenices |
| Apparent magnitude | 8.5 |
| Catalogue | Messier 64 (M64) |
Object data from Wikidata (CC0) and standard Messier catalogues.
What magnification suits M64?
Open the Fit My Telescope toolSee the true field and exit pupil each eyepiece givesFind telescope eyepiece on eBayaffiliateRelated
Sources: Black Eye Galaxy (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA) · Wikidata (CC0) · NASA Image and Video Library: PIA20058 (public domain)