The Whirlpool Galaxy

Photo courtesy of NASA.
Today's picture features one of the most recognizable objects in the universe - the Whirlpool Galaxy - also known as Messier Object 51. On October 13, 1773, the famous astronomer Charles Messier was observing a comet when he noticed a "very faint nebula, without stars". Of course it was later determined that this "faint nebula" was actually a very large and very bright galaxy.

At a mere 30 million light years from earth, M51 isn't very far away by astronomical standards. It is also a whopping 60 million light years across! These two factors make the Whirlpool Galaxy one of the brightest and easiest-to-see galaxies in the night sky. In fact, it can be seen very easily simply by looking toward the constellation Canes Venatici with a good pair of binoculars!

This amazing image of the Whirlpool Galaxy was digitally produced by combining two separate images, one taken with Kitt Peak National Observatory's 0.9 meter telescope and the other with the Hubble Space Telescope.

Their immense sizes and the mind-boggling number of stars, planets and other objects contained in each one of them makes the galaxies among the most interesting things to look for on a dark, clear night. And when it comes to the photogenic Whirlpool Galaxy you don't even need a telescope - but you will see a lot more detail if you use one!

Picture Of The Day Homepage | Submit a photo

Interesting Articles