SPIRAL GALAXY M51 TORRENT

It is between 23 and 31 million light-years away and 76,900 ly (23,580 pc) in diameter. It lies in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. 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. (diameter 25.0 mag/arcsec 2 B-band isophote) The smaller object in the upper right is M51B or NGC 5195. The Whirlpool galaxy is located 31 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs), the Whirlpool's beautiful face-on view and closeness to Earth allow astronomers to study a classic spiral galaxy's structure and star-forming processes.Whirlpool Galaxy (M51A or NGC 5194). Bright blue star clusters emerge from the mayhem, illuminating the Whirlpool's arms.

SPIRAL GALAXY M51 TORRENT

The largest stars eventually sweep away the dusty cocoons with a torrent of radiation, hurricane-like stellar winds, and shock waves from supernova blasts. When the waves pass through orbiting gas clouds within the disk, they squeeze the gaseous material along each arm's inner edge. These dense clouds collapse, creating a wake of star birth, as seen in the bright pink star-forming regions. The waves are like ripples in a pond generated when a rock is thrown in the water. The small galaxy has been gliding past the Whirlpool for hundreds of millions of years.Īs NGC 5195 drifts by, its gravitational influence pumps up waves within the Whirlpool's pancake-shaped disk. Hubble's clear view, however, shows that NGC 5195 is passing behind the Whirlpool. At first glance, the compact galaxy appears to be tugging on the arm. Some astronomers believe that the Whirlpool's arms are so prominent because of the effects of a close encounter with NGC 5195, the small, yellowish galaxy at the outermost tip of one of the Whirlpool's arms. In the Whirlpool, the assembly line begins with the dark clouds of gas on the inner edge, then moves to bright pink star-forming regions, and ends with the brilliant blue star clusters along the outer edge. They are star-formation factories, compressing hydrogen gas and creating clusters of new stars. These arms serve an important purpose in spiral galaxies. Many spiral galaxies possess numerous, loosely shaped arms that make their spiral structure less pronounced. The Whirlpool's most striking feature is its two curving arms, a hallmark of so-called grand-design spiral galaxies. The galaxy is nicknamed the Whirlpool because of its swirling structure. This sharpest-ever image of the galaxy M51 (NGC 5194), taken in January 2005 with the Advanced Camera for Surveys aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, illustrates a spiral galaxy's grand design, from its curving spiral arms, where young stars reside, to its yellowish central core, a home of older stars. Beckwith (STScI), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) and companion galaxy NGC 5195Ĭopyright: NASA, ESA, S.

Spiral galaxy m51