M64, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, is a fascinating object in the night sky. The arms trace nearly circular rings and, unlike most spirals, seem to contain no young stars but glow instead with the soft, faint light of older stars. This galaxyΓÇÖs most striking feature is rather obvious: the massive dust lane in the nuclear bulge, which lends M64 its more popular name, the Black-Eye Galaxy.
The region containing the dust lane glows more brightly than the rest of the galaxy. Indeed, there appears to be an unusual ring of star formation surrounding M64ΓÇÖs center. Why are stars forming here, in the galaxyΓÇÖs center, rather than in its arms, as is usually the case with spirals? Perhaps in their
