@stro object for the week of 04/24/2000
courtesy of SEDS
Whirlpool Galaxy, cataloged as M51 and NGC 5194, was first discovered
by Charles Messier on October 13th, 1773 while he was observing
a comet. The smaller companion galaxy, located to the left of the
larger Whirlpool in the image, was first discovered by Pierre Mechain
in 1781 and has been cataloged as NGC 5195.
is a large spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way galaxy. It was the
first galaxy to be observed and identified to have spiral arms.
Astronomers theorize that M51's spiral arms may actually be the
result of gravitational interaction with its smaller companion galaxy.
galaxy is one of the brightest galaxies in the night sky and is
easily visible with modest telescopes in dark skies. However, it
can be washed out by light-pollution and may be difficult to observe
in urban skies.
information for the Whirlpool Galaxy (Northern Hemisphere):
Estimates vary between 15 to 37 million light-years
APOD of the Whirlpool Galaxy...
webpage on the Whirlpool Galaxy...
Galaxy nucleus from the HST...