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

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Description

Messier 51 (a.k.a Whirlpool Galaxy) was one of the first of Charles Messier's spiral galaxy discoveries in 1773, found whilst observing a comet. This object is actually two galaxies (NGC5194 & NGC5195) interacting with each other where the outer regions are just touching. M51 is located approximately 30 million light years from Earth.

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The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51), Stacey Williams