M51 and NGC 5195 - Whirlpool Galaxy (Rex Robichaux)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn) · Contains: IC 4277 · M 51 · NGC 5194 · NGC 5195 · Whirlpool Galaxy

M51 and NGC 5195 - Whirlpool Galaxy, Rex Robichaux

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M51 and NGC 5195 - Whirlpool Galaxy

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M51 and NGC 5195 - Whirlpool Galaxy

Here's my first take at the picturesque spiral of the Whirlpool Galaxy and it's lesser and gravitationally bound cousin NGC 5195. The compact galaxy appears to be tugging on the arm, the tidal forces from which trigger new star formation. The small galaxy has been gliding past the Whirlpool for hundreds of millions of years.

M51 was actually the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy by Lord Rosse, and was included in Messier's catalog in 1773. It contains roughly 100 billion stars and is approximately 23 million light years away.

This image was captured at Sky Meadows State Park in Northern Virginia. The image was captured with my RC-8 astrograph telescope, Nikon D5300 DSLR, and Skywatcher EQ6-R.

19x400" Lights, 40 flats, 125 bias frames, dithered. Total of about 2hrs of exposure time.

Cloudy Nights
Imaged with APT
Virginia Astronomers and Astrophotographers

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M51 and NGC 5195 - Whirlpool Galaxy

M51 and NGC 5195 - Whirlpool Galaxy

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M51 and NGC 5195 - Whirlpool Galaxy

M51 and NGC 5195 - Whirlpool Galaxy

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