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M 51 is usually called the “Whirlpool Galaxy” and has been thoroughly studied. This galaxy is interacting with the smaller NGC 5195 (on the left side of this image) and, due to this fact, both have been included in Halton Arp’s Catalog of Peculiar Galaxies, as Arp 85. NGC 5195 seems to have crossed M 51 twice, inducing the visible spiral structure on it and being stripped away of most of the free hydrogen gas clods it might have had. Now, M 51 shows steady star formation, probably due to the “acquired” gas.
Additional Information
Object
Name(s): M 51. NHG 5194. Whirlpool Galaxy
Type: Spiral galaxy
RA: 13h 29m 52s
Dec: +47º 11’ 51”
Constellation: Canes Venatici
Size (arcmin): 11.2×7
Magnitude: +8.2
Distance: 27 Mly
Image
Date: 2015-05-24
Location: iTelescope.net, Mayhill, NM, USA
Size (arcmin): 31×24
Telescope: 17” f/4.5
Camera: FLI PL6303E (3072x2048pix)
Guiding: yes
Total exposure: 84 min (7xLRGBx3min)
Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CC 2016 and PixInsight