At the heart of the constellation Canes Venatici lies Messier 94, a striking spiral galaxy also known as the Croc’s Eye. Seen nearly face-on from Earth, M94’s tightly wound spiral arms and bright inner ring give it a distinctive, hypnotic appearance. This LRGB image reveals both the luminous central starburst region and the faint, extended outer disk, a structure rarely visible in casual observations. The inner core glows with pinkish star-forming regions surrounded by a bluish halo of young stars, encased in a faint oval of dust and gas.

Captured under Bortle 4 skies in Qatar, this deep exposure blends over 20 hours of luminance, red, green, and blue data to highlight both detail and faint structure. The galaxy spans about 30,000 light-years and lies roughly 16 million light-years away, making it a relatively close and photogenic target. M94’s unusual double-ringed morphology continues to intrigue astronomers, offering insights into galaxy evolution and internal dynamics shaped by bar instabilities and density waves.