At 6 arc minutes of diameter, M61 is about 100,000 light years across similar to the diameter of the Milky Way. It is one of the larger galaxies in the Virgo cluster, situated in the southernmost area, with its apparent magnitude corresponding to an absolute magnitude of -21.2.

Six supernovae have been observed in M61.

M62 is an irregularly shaped globular cluster perhaps as a result of being close to the Galactic center (about 6,100 light years) and being deformed by tidal forces. Its main consentration is displaced from the centre in the lower right of the image.

At a diistance of 22,500 light years from Earth, M62 appears at a diameter of 15 arc minutes, about half of the Full Moon, corresponding to a linear extension of about 100 light years. From studies conducted in the 1970s it is known that M62 contains a high number of at least 89 variable stars, many of them of the RR Lyrae type. The globular also contains a number of x-ray sources, thought to be close binary star systems, and millisecond pulsars in binary systems.

Although 6 degrees south, M63 is said to form a physical group with M51 and several smaller galaxies, the M51 group, which is about 37 million light years distant.

Visually the spiral arms show up as a grainy background, which brightens rapidly towards the nuclear region. Star forming regions can be traced along the spiral arms on color photos.

A type I supernova 1971I occured on May 25th 1971, and reached magnitude 11.8.

M64 has a spectacular dark band of absorbing dust in front of the galaxy's bright nucleus which gave rise to the Black Eye nickname.

This spiral galaxy can be spotted through binoculars and is also a rewarding object for small and medium-sized telescopes. It exhibits an irregular shape, with uneven brightness and texture, overall a bright oval with a large bright core. The characteristic feature of the galaxy, the dark dust pattern, situated SSW from the nucleus, can be glimpsed with telescopes starting from 4-inch aperture, becoming further resolved in 6-inch scopes.

At first glance M64 seems to be a fairly normal spiral galaxy with all its stars orbiting in the same clockwise direction as most galaxies. However, recent detailed studies have led to the remarkable discovery that the interstellar gas in the outer regions of M64 rotates in the opposite direction from the gas and stars in the inner regions. The inner region has a radius of only approximately 3,000 light years, while the outer section extends another 40,000 light years. This pattern is believed to trigger the creation of many new stars around the boundary separating the two regions.

It appears that a collision of two galaxies left this merged star system with an unusual appearance and bizarre internal motions. Astronomers believe that the oppositely rotating gas arose when M64 absorbed a satellite galaxy that collided with it, perhaps more than one billion years ago. Active formation of new stars is occurring in the shear region where the oppositely rotating gases collide, are compressed, and contract.

Particularly noticeable in the image are hot, blue young stars that have just formed, along with pink clouds of glowing hydrogen gas that fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet light from newly formed stars. It is approximately 17 million light years from Earth.

The small galaxy that impinged on its neighbour has now been almost completely destroyed, its stars either merged with the main galaxy or scattered into space, but signs of the collision persist in the backward motion of gas at the outer edge of M64.

M65, together with its neighbours M66 and NGC 3628, forms a conspicuous and picturesque trio of large spiral galaxies, known as the Leo Triplet or M66 group, located at a distance of about 35 million light years. In the lower image, M65 is on the lower right, M66 is lower left and NGC 3628 is upper left.

It has been suggested that the two other galaxies in the Leo Triplet interacted with each other about 800 million years ago. More recent research suggests that M65 may also have interacted, although less strongly.

M65 may have a central bar, suggestive of tidal disruption, but it is difficult to tell because the galaxy is seen almost edge-on from our line of sight. It is about 100,000 light years across, which is similar in size to our Milky Way Galaxy.

With tightly wound spiral arms and dust lanes stretching into a core dominated by the yellowish light from an older population of stars, the galaxy is comparitively low in dust and gas showing little on-going star formation, although there has been some relatively recently in the arms. The ratio of old stars to new stars is correspondingly quite high.