Sunday 12 April 2020

An old favourite, M51 in Canes Venatici

The usual (now) setup with around 2 hours of 114s L, 45 mins each of R , G and B

M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy in Canes Venatici

NASA: 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. In M51, also known as the Whirlpool galaxy, these 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.  The small galaxy has been gliding past the Whirlpool for hundreds of millions of years.

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