01/20/2026
The Whirlpool Galaxy
It’s been a while since it’s been clear skies and I can actually enjoy some night skies…
A few things about this photo that I took…these 2 galaxies were actually one of my first observations of a galaxy ever, 35 or so years ago…when I first observed it then, in an 8 inch large telescope, it appeared as just 2 gray smudges…that was it. Like 2 monochrome clouds…very little detail and u can barely see that they were connecting…NOW, the detail is incredible….
My pic of these 2 interacting galaxies 31 MILLION light-years away…The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust.
The Whirlpool Galaxy (actually 2 galaxies both M51 & NGC 5195) In the constellation Canes Vernatici, and was the first galaxy classified as a spiral…
The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. Such striking arms are a hallmark of so-called grand-design spiral galaxies. The Whirlpool galaxy’s spiral arms serve an important purpose: they are star-formation factories, compressing hydrogen gas and creating clusters of new stars.
Some astronomers think that the Whirlpool’s arms are particularly prominent because of the effects of a close encounter with NGC 5195, the small, yellowish galaxy at the outermost tip of one of the arms. The compact galaxy appears to be tugging on the arm, the tidal forces from which trigger new star formation. Hubble’s clear view shows that NGC 5195 is passing behind M51. The small galaxy has been gliding past the Whirlpool for hundreds of millions of years.
My pic 01-19-2026 ~
53 minutes Capture time on the Odyssey