Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  IC 4263  ·  M 51  ·  NGC 5194  ·  NGC 5195  ·  Whirlpool Galaxy
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Messier 51 -  The Whirlpool Galaxy, Randy Roy
Messier 51 -  The Whirlpool Galaxy
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Messier 51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy

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Messier 51 -  The Whirlpool Galaxy, Randy Roy
Messier 51 -  The Whirlpool Galaxy
Powered byPixInsight

Messier 51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy

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Description

Messier 51 was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. Located in the constellation Canes Venatici, this merger of galaxies is also known as NGC 5194. M 51 is 31 million light years distant and is magnitude 8.4. Contrast that with the smaller magnitude 13.64 galaxy NGC 4263 in the left upper quadrant this is approximately 171 million light years from Earth.

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Messier 51 -  The Whirlpool Galaxy, Randy Roy