Browse All : Aura of Whirlpool Galaxy

Name	Multipanel Images of Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)

Name	Hubble Optical Image of Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)

Name	Whirlpool Galaxy (M51): A Classic Beauty
Category	Normal Galaxies & Starburst Galaxies
Release Date	December 10, 2007

Name	Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) Animations

Name	Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) HST Image

Name	Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) NOAO Image

Hubble Reveals the Heart of the Whirlpool Galaxy

Title	Hubble Reveals the Heart of the Whirlpool Galaxy
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	Hubble Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Spectacular New Images
General Information	What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]

Title	M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy
Explanation	The Whirlpool Galaxy is a classic spiral galaxy. At only 23 million light years [ http://www.pa.msu.edu/~sciencet/ask_st/012292.html ] distant and fully 65 thousand light years across, M51 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m051.html ], also known as NGC [ http://www.seds.org/billa/ngc.html ] 5194, is one of the brightest and most picturesque galaxies [ http://www.seds.org/messier/more/m051_m2.html ] on the sky. The smaller galaxy appearing here below and to the left is well behind M [ http://www.seds.org/messier/Messier.html ]51, as can be inferred by the dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980116.html ] in a foreground spiral arm blocking light from this smaller galaxy. The Whirlpool, pictured above [ http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0063.html ], is visible with binoculars in the constellation [ http://www.physics.csbsju.edu/astro/asp/constellation.faq.html ] of Canes Venaciti [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Canes_Venatici.html ]. M51 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000527.html ] is a spiral galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/spiral_galaxies.html ] of type Sc [ http://www.astr.ua.edu/preprints/white/gal_tuningfrk.html ] and is the dominant member of a whole group [ http://www.seds.org/messier/more/m051gr.html ] of galaxies. Astronomers speculate that M51's spiral structure [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980314.html ] is primarily due to its gravitational interaction [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971022.html ] with this smaller galaxy.

Title	NGC 1531/2: Interacting Galaxies
Explanation	This dramatic image of an interacting pair of galaxies [ http://www.astr.ua.edu/pairs2.html ] was made using 8-meter Gemini [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030909.html ] South telescope [ http://www.gemini.edu/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=9&Itemid=2 ] at Cerro Pachon [ http://nightskylive.net/cp/ ], Chile [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ci.html ]. NGC 1531 is the background galaxy with a bright core just above center and NGC 1532 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980710.html ] is the foreground spiral galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/messier/spir.html ] laced with dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html ] lanes. The pair [ http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0983.html ] is about 55 million light-years [ http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html ] away in the southern constellation Eridanus [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Eridanus.html ]. These galaxies lie close enough together so that each feels the influence [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001102.html ] of the other's gravity [ http://www.curtin.edu.au/curtin/dept/phys-sci/gravity/history/history.htm ]. The gravitational tug-of-war [ http://www.army.mod.uk/sportandadventure/clubs/tug_of_war/history.htm ] has triggered star formation [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040414.html ] in the foreground spiral as evidenced by the young, bright blue star clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050103.html ] along the upper edge of the front spiral arm [ http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/q2233.html ]. Though the spiral galaxy in this pair [ http://www.gemini.edu/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=119 ] is viewed nearly edge-on, astronomers believe the system is similar to the face-on spiral and companion known as M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020710.html ].

Title	Whirlpool Galaxy
Original Caption Released with Image	Scientists are seeing unprecedented detail of the spiral arms and dust clouds in the nearby Whirlpool galaxy, thanks to a new Hubble Space Telescope image, available at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pictures/wfpc/wfpc.html. The image uses data collected January 15 and 24, 1995, and July 21, 1999, by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, designed and built by JPL. Using the image, a research group led by Dr. Nick Scoville of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, clearly defined the structure of the galaxy's cold dust clouds and hot hydrogen, and they linked star clusters within the galaxy to their parent dust clouds. The Whirlpool galaxy is one of the most photogenic galaxies. This celestial beauty is easily seen and photographed with smaller telescopes and studied extensively from large ground- and space-based observatories. The new composite image shows visible starlight and light from the emission of glowing hydrogen, which is associated with the most luminous young stars in the spiral arms. The galaxy is having a close encounter with a nearby companion galaxy, NGC 5195, just off the upper edge of the image. The companion's gravitational pull is triggering star formation in the main galaxy, lit up by numerous clusters of young and energetic stars in brilliant detail. Luminous clusters are highlighted in red by their associated emission from glowing hydrogen gas. This image was composed by the Hubble Heritage Team from Hubble archive data and was superimposed onto data taken by Dr. Travis Rector of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory at the .9-meter (35-inch) telescope at the National Science Foundation's Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, Ariz. Scoville's team includes M. Polletta of the University of Geneva, Switzerland, S. Ewald and S. Stolovy of Caltech, and R. Thompson and M. Rieke of the University of Arizona, Tucson. The Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md., manages space operations for the Hubble Space Telescope for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA under contract with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. JPL is a division of Caltech. Additional information about the Hubble Space Telescope is available at http://www.stsci.edu . More information about the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 is available at http://wfpc2.jpl.nasa.gov

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Browse All : Aura of Whirlpool Galaxy