Messier 64 is the Blackeye Galaxy in Coma Berenices. It is also sometimes called the Sleeping Beauty Galaxy.

Its most prominent feature is a dark dust lane on the northern side of the center of the galaxy, giving it the appearance of a black eye. This area is choked with dust and is a star-forming region.

M64 is an Sab type spiral galaxy. Although all of the stars rotate in the same direction in the galaxy, with the spiral arms trailing, the galaxy seems to have two disks of gas that are rotating in opposite directions. The inner one around the core of the galaxy is 6,000 light-years in diameter. The outer disk of gas extends out 40,000 light-years. It is thought that the counter-rotating disk may be the remnants of another galaxy that was accreted by M64. The two disks interact heavily in the dust lane, an area where hot blue stars are forming out of the gas and dust.

M64 lies at a distance of 19 million light-years from us. It has a magnitude of 8.5, and is 10.3 x 5.0 arcminutes in apparent size. It was discovered by Edward Pigott in 1779.

North is to the bottom in the above image.

Messier 64 Catalogs: M64, NGC 4826 Common Name: Blackeye, Sleeping Beauty Object Type: (R)SA(rs)ab Galaxy Magnitude: 8.5v Size: 10.0' x 5.4' Constellation: Coma Berenices Image Field Centered At: RA: 12h 56m 43s Dec: +21° 40' 54"