The Whirlpool Galaxy
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has snapped a view of several star generations in the central region of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51), a spiral region 23 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs).
Credit:
Nino Panagia ( Space Telescope Science Institute and European Space Agency) and NASA
About the Image
NASA press release
NASA caption
NASA caption
| Id: | opo9617b |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 24 April 1996, 06:00 |
| Size: | 550 x 558 px |
About the Object
| Name: | IRAS 13277+4727, M 51, Messier 51, NGC 5194, Whirlpool Galaxy |
| Type: | • Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral |
| Distance: | 25 million light years |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| Optical V |
502 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Optical V |
547 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Optical H-alpha |
656 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
