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Whirlpool Galaxy

Question Mark Galaxy, Rosse's Galaxy, M51, NGC 5194

Spiral Galaxy in Canes Venatici

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Proper Names	Whirlpool Galaxy, Question Mark Galaxy, Rosse's Galaxy
Messier Number	M51
NGC/IC Number	NGC 5194
Constellation	Canes Venatici
Right Ascension	13h 29m 53s
Declination	+47° 11' 43"
Distance	c.28,000,000 light years c.8,600,000 parsecs
Magnitude	Apparent: +8.9
Mean Diameter	Apparent: 8.44' Actual: c.55,000 light years
Hubble Type	Spiral class c
Optimum Visibility	April / May (Usually visible from northern latitudes)
Notes	The Messier Number 'M51' is sometimes used to refer to both the Whirlpool Galaxy and its companion NGC 5195. In that case, the Whirlpool itself is identified as 'M51a'.

A loose spiral galaxy in the constellation of Canes Venatici, about thirteen million light years from our own Milky Way Galaxy. Because the Whirlpool is aligned so that we see it 'face on', its spiral structure is very well defined. It is associated with a smaller attendant galaxy, NGC 5195.

Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas

The Whirlpool Galaxy belongs to a drift of galaxies scattered across the constellations Ursa Major and Canes Venatici. It is far too faint to see with the naked eye, but not hard to find in the sky with a telescope - it lies a little to the south and west of Alkaid, the tail-star of Ursa Major.

The Whirlpool Galaxy is not far from the Northern Galactic Pole in the sky, meaning that it is far 'above' the plane of our own Galaxy. The Whirlpool itself is much too far away to show on this diagram.

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