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M51 Whirlpool Galaxy
Magnitude: 8.4
Distance: Aprox: 23 million light-years
Constellation: Canes Venatici (Hunting Dogs)
Diameter: 43,000 light-years
Number of Stars Approx: ?
Messier 51 is classified as a Seyfert 2 galaxy, an active galaxy with a quasar-like nucleus, a very high surface brightness and a characteristic bright core, one that appears particularly bright at infrared wavelengths.Messier 51 is about 35 percent the size of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and has an estimated mass of 160 billion solar masses. The galaxy is positioned only 3.5 degrees southwest of Alkaid, Eta Ursae Majoris, the star that marks the end of the Dipper’s handle, or the tip of the Great Bear‘s tail.
The Whirlpool Galaxy is interacting with a smaller companion, NGC 5195 (Messier 51b), a dwarf galaxy connected to its larger neighbour by a tidal bridge of dust. The bridge is visible in images of the pair silhouetted against the central region of the smaller galaxy.
Taken 6/1/19 at Grand Rapids, Ohio by Russell Kille on a Celestron C14" Edge HD with Hyperstar @ F1.9 and ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera
Taken 6/8/19 at Lake Hudson Recreation Area in Clayton, MI by Russell Kille on a Celestron 14" EdgeHD @ f/11 and ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera
