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Color photo of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51). Its two pronounced arms give it a strong spiral structure. The dense center of the galaxy glows brightly. At the end of one spiral arm the smaller galaxy NGC 5195 is visible. Though it appears to be attached to the arm, it is actually passing behind M51. Its gravitational influence is causing clouds of gas in M51 to expand and compress, setting off the bright pink star forming regions visible along the galaxy's arms.

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Color photo of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51). Its two pronounced arms give it a strong spiral structure. The dense center of the galaxy glows brightly. At the end of one spiral arm the smaller galaxy NGC 5195 is visible. Though it appears to be attached to the arm, it is actually passing behind M51. Its gravitational influence is causing clouds of gas in M51 to expand and compress, setting off the bright pink star forming regions visible along the galaxy's arms.
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Robert McNees (mcnees@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 13-Oct-2023 15:23:39 UTC Robert McNees

Charles Messier discovered the Whirlpool galaxy #OTD in 1773. The designation M51 refers to its entry in the catalog he produced.
Pretty good galaxy.
Credit: NASA/ESA/S. Beckwith (STScI)/HHT (STScI/AURA)

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