M51 – The Whirlpool Galaxy

Apr 21, 2006 by Jared Smith

After a LONG winter, I was finally able to get out with the telescope and get some imaging in. Here’s M51, The Whirlpool Galaxy. As you can see, it’s actually two galaxies colliding. Eventually the smaller one will merge with the larger, spiral galaxy. M51 is located about 37 million light years away and is very near the end handle star of the Big Dipper.