M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC 5195 (Orestis Pavlou)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn) · Contains: IC 4263 · M 51 · NGC 5169 · NGC 5173 · NGC 5194 · NGC 5195 · NGC 5198 · Whirlpool galaxy

M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC 5195, Orestis Pavlou

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M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC 5195

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M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC 5195

M51 is a spiral galaxy located around 28 million light years away from Earth. It has a diameter of around 65,000 light years and has a total mass of 160 billion solar masses.

M51 is actually observed to be interacting with the dwarf galaxy NGC 5195, the bright yellow/orange blob appearing at the edge of one of its main spiral arms. This makes M51 a prime example of an interacting galaxy currently studied by astronomers and astrophysicists to determine the effects of such interactions on galactic structures and star formation.

The dwarf galaxy NGC 5195 is actually not attached to the spiral arm of M51, but is actually around 0.5 million light years further away.

M51 has 2 prominent dust lanes around which the gas and stars of the galaxy are concentrated. The red spots are actually giant star-forming regions of hydrogen gas. The interaction between the two galaxies is considered to be one of the causes of the increase in star formation in M51.

Supermassive black holes are located at the centers of both M51 and NGC 5195, detected by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The interaction between the two galaxies is thought to be responsible for the weird structure and extension of dust around NGC 5195, which extends far beyond the galaxy's center.

Several other galaxies can be seen in this image: NGC 5169, NGC 5173, IC 4263, NGC 5198, IC 4277 and others.

Imaging details:

Location: Nicosia, Cyprus

Light frames: 64x300" and 36x180" at 1600 ISO (7 hours total)

55 Dark + 30 Flat frames

Dates: 08/04, 09/04, 12/04 and 14/04/2019

Equipment:

Telescope: Sky-Watcher ED100 Black Diamond

Camera: Canon 550D

Mount: Celestron AVX

Imaged with APT

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M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC 5195

M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC 5195

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M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC 5195

M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC 5195

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