The Whirlpool Galaxy (AlBroxton)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn) · Contains: IC 4277 · IC 4278 · M 51 · NGC 5194 · NGC 5195 · Whirlpool Galaxy

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The Whirlpool Galaxy

The Whirlpool Galaxy (also known as (Messier 51a, M51a, or NGC 5194) is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy that is estimated to be 23 ± 4 million light-years from the Milky Way Galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is one of the most famous galaxies in the sky. The galaxy and its companion (NGC 5195) are easily observed by amateur astronomers, and the two galaxies may even be seen with binoculars. This was one of Messier's original discoveries. He found it in 1773 while observing a comet. M51 is a beautiful example of a face-on spiral galaxy. The obvious spiral shape of this object is what gave it the name, Whirlpool. It was the first spiral galaxy to be discovered. Careful observation reveals that this object is actually two galaxies. The second, known as NGC 5195, is interacting with M51. The outer regions of the two galaxies actually touch each other. M51 is located about 37 million light-years from Earth. Under dark skies, it is an easy target for small telescopes. It is one of the brightest and easiest galaxies to locate for the experienced amateur.

Observation Notes : Pretty bright, pretty large, Irregularly round and much brighter in the middle at 135X. On the best of nights the connecting bridge to M51 is obvious and there are several dark markings across the face of this strange shaped object. Discovered on Oct 13th 1773 by Charles Messier.

Original
B
Final
C

Allen Broxton
Galaxies

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The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

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