Whirlpool Galaxy M51a - Hubble Legacy, Francesco Sarcinella

Whirlpool Galaxy M51a - Hubble Legacy

Acquisition type: Electronically-Assisted Astronomy (EAA, e.g. based on a live video feed)
Whirlpool Galaxy M51a - Hubble Legacy, Francesco Sarcinella

Whirlpool Galaxy M51a - Hubble Legacy

Acquisition type: Electronically-Assisted Astronomy (EAA, e.g. based on a live video feed)

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Description

The Whirlpool Galaxy, is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus. It lies in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. Its distance is estimated to be 31 million light-years away from Earth. The pronounced spiral structure of the Whirlpool Galaxy is believed to be the result of the close interaction between it and its companion galaxy NGC 5195, which may have passed through the main disk of M51 about 500 to 600 million years ago.

Credit Hubble/NASA/ESA

Processing Francesco Sarcinella

Pixinsight v 1.8.8

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Whirlpool Galaxy M51a - Hubble Legacy, Francesco Sarcinella