Whirlpool Galaxy

"Galaxy M51" redirects here. For the smartphone, see Samsung Galaxy M51.
Whirlpool Galaxy
Whirlpool Galaxy (M51a), as taken by the European Space Agency, the smaller object in the upper right is NGC 5195 (M51b)
(NASA/ESA)
Observation data (J2000.0 epoch)
ConstellationCanes Venatici[1]
Right ascension13h 29m 52.7s[2]
Declination+47° 11′ 43″[2]
Redshift0.001534±0.000007[2]
Distance7.22 ± 2.13 megaparsecs (23.5 ± 6.95 million light-years)

[2][3]


Apparent magnitude (V)8.4[4]
Characteristics
TypeSA(s)bc pec[2]
Size23.58 kpc (76,900 ly)
(diameter; 25.0 mag/arcsec2 B-band isophote)[2][5]
Apparent size (V)11.2′ × 6.9′[2]
Notable featuresInteracting with NGC 5195[6]
Other designations
Question Mark Galaxy,[2] Rosse's Galaxy,[2] M51a,[2] NGC 5194,[2] UGC 8493,[2] PGC 47404,[2] VV 001a,[2] VV 403,[2] Arp 85,[2] GC 3572[2]

The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51a (M51a) or NGC 5194, is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus.[6][7][8] It lies in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy.[9] It is 7.22 megaparsecs (23.5 million light-years) away and 23.58 kiloparsecs (76,900 ly) in diameter.[2][10]

The galaxy and its companion, NGC 5195,[11] are easily observed by amateur astronomers, and the two galaxies may be seen with binoculars.[12] The Whirlpool Galaxy has been extensively observed by professional astronomers, who study it and its pair with NGC 5195 to understand galaxy structure (particularly structure associated with the spiral arms) and galaxy interactions. Its pair with NGC 5195 is among the most famous and relatively close interacting systems, and thus is a favorite subject of galaxy interaction models.

  1. ^ Dreyer, J. L. E. (1988). Sinnott, R. W. (ed.). The Complete New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters. Sky Publishing Corporation/Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-933346-51-2.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 5194. Retrieved December 6, 2006.
  3. ^ "Messier 51 (The Whirlpool Galaxy)". 6 October 2017.
  4. ^ "M51". SEDS.org.
  5. ^ De Vaucouleurs, Gerard; De Vaucouleurs, Antoinette; Corwin, Herold G.; Buta, Ronald J.; Paturel, Georges; Fouque, Pascal (1991). Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies. Bibcode:1991rc3..book.....D.
  6. ^ a b Elmegreen, D. M.; Elmegreen, B. G. (1987). "Arm classifications for spiral galaxies". Astrophysical Journal. 314: 3–9. Bibcode:1987ApJ...314....3E. doi:10.1086/165034.
  7. ^ Arp, H. (1966). "Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies". Astrophysical Journal Supplement. 14: 1. Bibcode:1966ApJS...14....1A. doi:10.1086/190147.
  8. ^ Matsushita, Satoki; Muller, Sebastien; Lim, Jeremy (9 April 2007). "Jet-disturbed molecular gas near the Seyfert 2 nucleus in M51". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 468 (A&A Letters Special Issue): L49–L52. arXiv:0704.0947. Bibcode:2007A&A...468L..49M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20067039. S2CID 15471799.
  9. ^ "Whirlpool Galaxy: First Spiral Galaxy". Universe for Facts. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
  10. ^ Garner, Rob (2017-10-06). "Messier 51 (The Whirlpool Galaxy)". NASA. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  11. ^ "M 51". Messier Objects 101.com. 2016-10-10. Archived from the original on 2016-10-28.
  12. ^ Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (February 24, 2013). "M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. Retrieved October 11, 2018.