M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy (Julian Shapiro)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn) · Contains: IC 4263 · IC 4277 · IC 4278 · M 51 · NGC 5194 · NGC 5195 · Whirlpool Galaxy

M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy

Discovered in 1773 by Charles Messier, M51 is a grand-design spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici. The Whirlpool Galaxy spans approximately 75,000 light years in diameter, slightly smaller than the Milky Way at 100,000 light years. Though its precise distance is not known, astronomers believe M51 is within the range of 25-31 million light years from Earth. M51 is interacting with the smaller dwarf galaxy M51b, connected by a tidal bridge. The two large spiral arms in M51 are likely so pronounced as a result of M51b passing through the galaxy about 500 million years ago. Their collision also formed a number of faint tidal streams containing stars and gas extending outwards from the galaxies. Another notable feature of M51 is its prominent H-alpha nebulae, seen as the pink-red spots within the spiral arms.

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The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	9841555
PixInsight job	JX10QZ0S5GNOXGHGIS6PEPQHL2URHSH8
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	13h29m52s.660
RA (top/left)	13h28m21s.345
RA (top/right)	13h28m15s.458
RA (bottom/right)	13h31m22s.126
RA (bottom/left)	13h31m30s.937

Dec (center)	+47°12′19″.55
Dec (top/left)	+47°36′14″.75
Dec (top/right)	+46°49′06″.70
Dec (bottom/right)	+46°48′17″.18
Dec (bottom/left)	+47°35′24″.40

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M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy

M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy

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M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy

M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy

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