Messier 51(The Whirlpool Galaxy)
The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51a or NGC 5194, 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. It is about 31 million light-years (9.5 Mpc) away from Earth and 76,900 ly (23,580 pc) in diameter.
The galaxy and its companion, NGC 5195,are easily observed by amateur astronomers, and the two galaxies may be seen with binoculars. The Whirlpool Galaxy has been extensively observed by professional astronomers, and its pair with NGC 5195 who study it to understand galaxy structure (particularly structure associated with the spiral arms) and galaxy interactions. Its pair with NGC 5194 is among the most famous and relatively close interacting systems, and thus is a favorite subject of galaxy interaction models.
Constellation : Canes Venatici[1]
Right ascension : 13h 29m 52.7s[2]
Declination :+47° 11′ 43″[2]
Redshift : 0.001544[2]
Distance : 31 Mly (9.5 Mpc)[3]
Apparent magnitude (V) 8.4
Properties of M51(The Whirlpool Galaxy)
The Whirlpool Galaxy lies at a distance of about 31 million light-years from Earth. Based on the 1991 measurement by the Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies using the D25 isophote at the B-band, the Whirlpool Galaxy has a diameter of 23.58 kiloparsecs (76,900 light-years). Overall the galaxy is about 88% the size of the Milky Way. Its mass is estimated to be 160 billion solar masses, or around 10.3% of the mass of Milky Way Galaxy.
A black hole, once thought to be surrounded by a ring of dust, but now believed to be partially occluded by dust instead, exists at the heart of the spiral. A pair of ionization cones extend from the active galactic nucleus.
To know more about the properties of M51 visit the link:Messier51(The Whirlpool Galaxy)
More Info about Messier 51:
The Whirlpool Galaxy is the brightest galaxy in the M51 Group, a small group of galaxies that also includes M63 (the Sunflower Galaxy), NGC 5023, and NGC 5229. This small group may actually be a subclump at the southeast end of a large, elongated group that includes the M101 Group and the NGC 5866 Group, although most group identification methods and catalogs identify the three groups as separate entities.
Soon we will also post abot M63(The sunflower galaxy), NGC5023, NGC5229, NGC5866.
Naked Visibility:
As this galaxy is 31 light-years away from Earth and located in the the Constellation Canes Venatici,
M51 will be faint with a magnitude of just 8.4, meaning it definitely won't be visible to the naked eyes, but we can see it through binoculars or telescope.
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You can view the photos of M51 below. All image credit is NASA.
Next Object: Messier 52
Photos of Messier51(The Whirlpool Galaxy)
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