M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy
M51 is a galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici (pronounced kay-knees ven-at-is-eye) which is Latin for ‘hunting dogs’ and is 31 million light years away give or take about 7 million ly and 77,000 ly in diameter making it just over three quarters the size of the Milky Way. In the image you can see that M51 comprises two galaxies with NGC5195 seen to the left of the main galaxy. The two are often identified as M51a and M51b with the former being the larger galaxy. M51a is known as is an ‘interacting grand-design spiral galaxy’ which refers to the interaction between a and b.
It was not identified as a galaxy until Edwin Hubble noted it as such. In fact, until Hubble’s paper of 1929 was released explaining much more about the universe, everyone believed everything seen in space was inside the Milky Way. The galaxy was discovered in 1773 by Charles Messier who added it to his catalogue to help comet hunters avoid claiming it as a comet.
Another name for it is the Whirlpool Galaxy as a result of a drawing by the 3rd Earl of Rosse in 1845 who made it look a bit like a Viennese Whirl!
M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy
M51 is a galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici (pronounced kay-knees ven-at-is-eye) which is Latin for ‘hunting dogs’ and is 31 million light years away give or take about 7 million ly and 77,000 ly in diameter making it just over three quarters the size of the Milky Way. In the image you can see that M51 comprises two galaxies with NGC5195 seen to the left of the main galaxy. The two are often identified as M51a and M51b with the former being the larger galaxy. M51a is known as is an ‘interacting grand-design spiral galaxy’ which refers to the interaction between a and b.
It was not identified as a galaxy until Edwin Hubble noted it as such. In fact, until Hubble’s paper of 1929 was released explaining much more about the universe, everyone believed everything seen in space was inside the Milky Way. The galaxy was discovered in 1773 by Charles Messier who added it to his catalogue to help comet hunters avoid claiming it as a comet.
Another name for it is the Whirlpool Galaxy as a result of a drawing by the 3rd Earl of Rosse in 1845 who made it look a bit like a Viennese Whirl!