2020-04-11/14/15 / Click on image to enlarge
The Whirlpool Galaxy, M51, is a grand design spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Canes Venatici. It is one of the most famous galaxies in the sky, appearing face-on when viewed from Earth. M51 has a much smaller dwarf companion, known as NGC 5195, and together they form the finest and most studied example of an interacting galaxy pair in the sky. The M51 lies in a distance of 23 million light years from the Earth and has a diameter of 75'000 light years.
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