Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  M 101  ·  NGC 5447  ·  NGC 5449  ·  NGC 5450  ·  NGC 5451  ·  NGC 5453  ·  NGC 5455  ·  NGC 5457  ·  NGC 5461  ·  NGC 5462  ·  NGC 5471  ·  Pinwheel galaxy
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M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy, David Hickey
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M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy, David Hickey
Powered byPixInsight

M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy

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Description

M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy, was discovered in 1781 by Pierre Mechain and is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) at a distance of 20 million light years. M101 is a large spiral with a diameter of about 170,000 light years across, but is asymmetrical due to gravitational interactions with five companion galaxies nearby. M101 shines at a magnitude of 7.8.

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M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy, David Hickey