Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)
A classic spiral galaxy interacting with its companion NGC 5195; its spiral arms require a telescope to be seen.
Galaxy in Canes Venatici. Magnitude 8.4.
Can you see it from Guyana?
From Georgetown (6.8° N) it climbs to 50° above the northern horizon at its highest; from Lethem (3.4° N), to 46° above the northern horizon. It is highest at midnight on the night of 11 Apr, in the middle of its season. The page works out tonight's rise, highest point and set for both towns in Guyana time (UTC-4), and where the Moon is.
What you'll see
- Your eyes: Not visible to the eye.
- 10x50 binoculars: A faint smudge from a dark site.
- A small telescope (80 to 100 mm): Two cores, the galaxy and its companion NGC 5195; the spiral arms need a larger telescope and a dark sky.
- A camera: Tiny on camera: it needs 2,000 mm or more of focal length on a tracking mount.
How big, how bright, how far
- Size on the sky: 11′ × 8′, 35% of the Moon's width (the Moon is about 31′ wide).
- Brightness: magnitude 8.4. Fainter than the faintest stars in Georgetown (4.3) and Lethem (6.0): binoculars or a telescope.
- Distance: 23 million light-years. The light reaching your eye left it about 23 million years ago.
What it is made of
- Type
- Interacting Spiral Galaxy
- Distance
- Approx. 23 million Lightyears
- True size
- Approx. 76,000 Lightyears diameter
- Spiral Arms: Rich in HII regions and young clusters
- Companion Galaxy (NGC 5195): Interacting, distorting spiral structure
- Dark Matter Halo: Inferred from rotation curve
More deep-sky objects: Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) · Galaxy M106 · Needle Galaxy (NGC 4565) · Black Eye Galaxy (M64) · Bode's Galaxy (M81) · Cigar Galaxy (M82)