Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  M 51  ·  NGC 5194  ·  NGC 5195  ·  Whirlpool Galaxy
M51 Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC5195 in Canes Venatici, Phil Swift
M51 Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC5195 in Canes Venatici
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M51 Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC5195 in Canes Venatici

M51 Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC5195 in Canes Venatici, Phil Swift
M51 Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC5195 in Canes Venatici
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M51 Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC5195 in Canes Venatici

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Description

The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51 and NGC 5194, is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus.

It lies in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy.

Its distance is estimated to be 23 million light-years away from Earth.

The galaxy and its companion, NGC 5195, are easily observed by amateur astronomers, and the two galaxies may be seen with binoculars and small telescopes.

The Whirlpool Galaxy was discovered on 13th October 1773, by Charles Messier while hunting for objects that could confuse comet hunters, and was designated in Messier's catalogue as M51.

Its companion galaxy, NGC 5195, was discovered in 1781 by Pierre Méchain.

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M51 Whirlpool Galaxy and NGC5195 in Canes Venatici, Phil Swift