Messier 74

Messier 74 (M74 or NGC 628 or Phantom Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy about 30 million light-years' distant that is oriented moderately close to perpendicular to the line of sight, so the spiral is fully in view. It is classified as a grand design spiral galaxy, showing a very clear spiral structure. A number of supernova have been identified in it. Like Whirlpool Galaxy and Messier 100, its orientation makes it ideal for many observations aimed at discovering the architecture of spiral galaxies, such as the frequency, location, and density of molecular clouds. Characteristics:

• Pisces - constellation.
• 01h36m41.8s - right ascension.
• +15deg47m01s - declination.
• 30 million ly - distance.
• SA(s)c - galaxy type.
• 10 arcmin - apparent dimension (angular diameter).