Astronomy Picture of the Day - Whirlpool Galaxy Deep Field

[Submariner]

Great display.



Explanation: Follow the handle of the Big Dipper away from the dipper's bowl, until you get to the handle's last bright star. Then, just slide your telescope a little south and west and you might find this stunning pair of interacting galaxies, the 51st entry in Charles Messier's famous catalog. Perhaps the original spiral nebula, the large galaxy with well defined spiral structure is also cataloged as NGC 5194. Its spiral arms and dust lanes clearly sweep in front of its companion galaxy (left), NGC 5195. The pair are about 31 million light-years distant and officially lie within the angular boundaries of the small constellation Canes Venatici. Though M51 looks faint and fuzzy to the human eye, the above long-exposure, deep-field image taken last month shows much of the faint complexity that actually surrounds the smaller galaxy.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

[struggle4progress]

1. Cool! And beautiful!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

Also, it gave me another great money-making idea! I'm going to sell name-rights and land-titles there!

Since Whirlpool wouldn't pony up, the thing is now called the Maytag Galaxy

[Nicole Lambeth]

2. breathtaking

Whenever I see a picture like this, I am reminded how truly small and insignificant this little rock we call earth is, and how majestic the universe is. Beautiful! Thanks for posting.

[Bertha Venation]

3. WOW!

[Deep13]

4. I wonder who in that galaxy is at this moment...

...posting a picture of ours on whatever the information sharing service is out there.

[SoxFan]

5. ...

Kind of loses a bit of the grandeur, doesn't it?

[Strong Atheist]

6. Very nice! nt.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. I love space pics. Thanks!

[azmouse]

8. It'd be an awful waste of space if no one else is out there.