Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  M 101  ·  NGC 5451  ·  NGC 5455  ·  NGC 5457  ·  NGC 5461  ·  NGC 5471
M101 - PINWHEEL GALAXY, Emanuele La Barbera
M101 - PINWHEEL GALAXY
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M101 - PINWHEEL GALAXY

M101 - PINWHEEL GALAXY, Emanuele La Barbera
M101 - PINWHEEL GALAXY
Powered byPixInsight

M101 - PINWHEEL GALAXY

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Description

The pinwheel galaxy (cataloged as M101 or NGC 5457) is a spiral galaxy 21 million light years away from Earth.
Located in the constellation of Ursa Major, in excellent sky conditions it is also possible to observe it with binoculars.
M101 is one of the largest known galaxies: compared to the Milky Way, which has a diameter of 100,000 light years, the pinwheel galaxy has a diameter of 170,000 light years.
M101 also has a high population of H II regions (shown in the photo as regions tending to magenta) many of which are very large and bright. These regions are associated with star formation activities and radiation-matter interaction processes.
Another particular property of this galaxy is the presence of asymmetry in its arms which is believed to be due to interaction with another galaxy.
This fruitful season of galaxies ends with this recovery
Image obtained with Michele Russo and Salvo Semilia, combining the luminance shots with those of RGB and H-alpha.

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