Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  M 101  ·  NGC 5457  ·  NGC 5461  ·  NGC 5473  ·  NGC 5477
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The Pinwheel M101, Richard S. Wright Jr.
The Pinwheel M101
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The Pinwheel M101, Richard S. Wright Jr.
The Pinwheel M101
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Description

M101 is a textbook example of the grand design spiral type galaxy, and is the third largest galaxy in the Messier catalog. Face on at a distance of 22 million light years it is a challenging astrophotography target due to it's low surface brightness.

This galaxy was not discovered by Messier, but by Pierre Mechain in late March of 1781 just before the final version of Messier's catalog was to go to print (source "Atlas of the Messier Objects").

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The Pinwheel M101, Richard S. Wright Jr.