Messier 51: The Whirlpool Galaxy
Taken by Tom Wildoner on January 22, 2026 @
Weatherly, PA, USA
Click photo for larger image
| |
Camera Used: Unavailable Unavailable
Exposure Time: Unavailable
Aperture: Unavailable
ISO: Unavailable
Date Taken: 2026:02:06 11:49:55
|
|
| More images
Details:
Messier 51 (also known as M51 or NGC 5194) is one of the most famous and visually stunning galaxies in the night sky, widely celebrated for its "grand-design" spiral structure. Located approximately 23 to 31 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, it was the very first galaxy to be identified as a spiral. M51 is famously locked in a gravitational "cosmic dance" with its smaller companion, the dwarf galaxy NGC 5195, which appears to be tugging at the end of one of its massive spiral arms. This interaction has sent tidal shockwaves through M51, triggering intense bursts of star formation that illuminate its arms with brilliant pink nebulae and clusters of hot, blue young stars. Because it is oriented face-on to Earth, it provides astronomers and astrophotographers with a perfect, unobstructed view of its sweeping dust lanes and active galactic nucleus, which is powered by a central supermassive black hole.
Quick Facts
Constellation: Canes Venatici
Distance: ~23–31 million light-years
Classification: Grand-design Spiral (SA(s)bc)
Apparent Magnitude: 8.4
Companion Galaxy: NGC 5195 (M51b)
Discovery: Charles Messier (1773)
Tech Specs: Meade 12” LX-90 SCT Telescope, Antares Focal Reducer, ZWO ASI2600MC camera running at -20F, 2h 49m using 60 second subs, Celestron CGX-L pier mounted, ZWO EAF and ASIAir Pro, processed in DSS/PixInsight. Image Date: January 22, 2026. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
Photographer's website:
https://www.thedarksideobservatory.com
|
|
|
