Some targets this time of year need to be imaged over and over...like M51 the iconic Whirlpool Galaxy.  I'm pleased with this image and my progress compared to last year's version.   This hobby is certainly a slow journey.  Taken from Sawtooth Canyon BLM, bortle 5, and my backyard.  I gently blended in a bit of the Ha.   Until next year Messier 51!  

So what the heck is going on with this beautiful grand-design spiral galaxy?  

from wikipedia: The pronounced spiral structure of the Whirlpool Galaxy is believed to be the result of the close interaction between it and its companion galaxy NGC 5195, which may have passed through the main disk of M51 about 500 to 600 million years ago. In this proposed scenario, NGC 5195 came from behind M51 through the disk towards the observer and made another disk crossing as recently as 50 to 100 million years ago until it is where we observe it to be now, slightly behind M51. The central region of M51 appears to be undergoing a period of enhanced star formation. Three supernovae have been observed in the Whirlpool Galaxy: In 1994, SN 1994I was observed in the Whirlpool Galaxy.  It was classified as type Ic, indicating that its progenitor star was very massive and had already shed much of its mass, and its brightness peaked at apparent magnitude 12.91. In June 2005 the type II supernova SN 2005cs was observed, peaking at apparent magnitude 14.  On 31 May 2011 a type II supernova was detected peaking at magnitude 12.1. This supernova, designated SN 2011dh, showed a spectrum much bluer than average, with P Cygni profiles, which indicate rapidly expanding material, in its hydrogen-Balmer lines.  The progenitor was probably a yellow supergiant and not a red or blue supergiant, which are thought to be the most common supernova progenitors. On 22 January 2019, a supernova impostor, designated AT2019abn, was discovered. The transient was later identified as a luminous red nova. The progenitor star was detected in archival Spitzer Space Telescope infrared images.  No object could be seen at the position of the transient in archival Hubble images, indicating that the progenitor star was heavily obstructed by interstellar dust.