Only 22 degrees from the north galactic pole, we see M51 through a very thin veil of our own stars. It is only 31 million light years distant, and is superposed by only a handful of Milky Way stars. These would be reasons enough for M51 to be a showpiece object, but it also adds the splendor of its interaction with NGC 5195 and its impressive backdrop of far distant galaxies to its list of impressive credentials.
NGC 5195 is a substantial galaxy. Its interaction with M51 has significantly distorted the larger galaxy, and triggered a frenzy of starbirth in its kinked spiral arms. The pair was famously photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope as part of the celebration of its 15 years in orbit.
This gorgeous image has become an icon of astrophotography, showing both the aesthetic and scientific value of the imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope.
My
prior image of M51, taken in April of 2013, was not satisfactory to me. It had soft focus and poor framing, so I was anxious to get back onto M51 this year to see how much better I could do. In my opinion, this is much better. Both of the prior deficiencies have been corrected, my processing skills have improved, and I've added Ha data. Overall I'm very satisfied with this result.
Be sure to check out the
full resolution version of this image to see all the faint background galaxies. They make an incredible backdrop to this scene.
Image acquired at Sugar Grove Observatory, a facility of Twin City Amateur Astronomers (tcaa.us).
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