Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  M 101  ·  NGC 5422  ·  NGC 5457  ·  NGC 5461  ·  NGC 5473  ·  NGC 5474
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Pinwheel Galaxy - 6/17/2010, AstroPoverty
Pinwheel Galaxy - 6/17/2010
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Pinwheel Galaxy - 6/17/2010

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Description

The Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier Object 101) is a spiral type galaxy about twice the size of our own Milky Way probably containing well over 200 billion stars. M101 is approximately 170,000 lightyears from edge to edge. Of particular note are the red/pink blotches in the arms of the galaxy. These areas are called H II regions and are indicative of stellar nurseries where new stars are born). The dense hydrogen gas is energized by nearby young and energetic stars and emits color in the red frequency when excited.

In the upper left, NGC 5474 is visible. This companion galaxy would have probably been classified as a well-formed spiral type, but the massive gravitational pull of nearby M101 has caused massive deformations and irregularities in the structure.

M101 is located some 24 million lightyears distant and is found in the constellation Ursa Major (Big Dipper).

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Pinwheel Galaxy - 6/17/2010, AstroPoverty