Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  IC 4263  ·  M 51  ·  NGC 5194  ·  NGC 5195  ·  Whirlpool galaxy
M51 Whirlpool Galaxy, PrairieSkiesAstro
M51 Whirlpool Galaxy
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M51 Whirlpool Galaxy

M51 Whirlpool Galaxy, PrairieSkiesAstro
M51 Whirlpool Galaxy
Powered byPixInsight

M51 Whirlpool Galaxy

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Description

This is my attempt at the very well-known (and highly photogenic) Whirlpool Galaxy (M51). This one is especially tough for me because (at the current time) it sits right above my house to the North/Northeast which is towards my highly populated and light-polluted neighborhood. Most astrophysicists/astronomers believe that a black hole exists at the center of the spiral arms. I wanted to try and photograph it to see if I could compete with the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) initial results which were just released last week (although that project imaged the super massive black hole at the center of M87). Alas, my tiny aperture doesn't come close to the Earth-sized telescope developed as part of that project (also my telescope is restricted to visual wavelengths). Nonetheless this galaxy is still quite breathtaking and I'm glad I tried.

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  • M51 Whirlpool Galaxy, PrairieSkiesAstro
    Original
  • Final
    M51 Whirlpool Galaxy, PrairieSkiesAstro
    B

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M51 Whirlpool Galaxy, PrairieSkiesAstro