M51 – Astronomy Now

Don’t miss out on Messier 51, the wonderful Whirlpool Galaxy

16 May 2022 Mark Armstrong

Magnificent Messier 51 (NGC 5194), the Whirlpool Galaxy in Canes Venatici, is without doubt the best and most famous example of a spiral galaxy that is presented face-on to our perspective.

A Warhol-like look at the Whirlpool, courtesy of Spitzer

30 June 2019 Astronomy Now

Combining visible-light and multi-wavelength infrared views of the Whirlpool galaxy reveals a Warhol-like series of images highlighting the dust lanes and star-forming regions of the glorious spiral and the relatively featureless nature of the smaller companion.

See Comet Catalina pass overhead from UK when closest to Earth

13 January 2016 Ade Ashford

Having brushed by bright star Arcturus on 1 January, Comet Catalina (C/2013 US10) continues its trek through the constellations of the far north. Now a circumpolar object for the British Isles, in the early hours of 17 January it lies between famous double star Mizar (ζ Ursae Majoris) and the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101), virtually overhead in the UK.

Space telescopes find “twins” of Eta Carinae in other galaxies

6 January 2016 Astronomy Now

Located about 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina, Eta Carinae outshines our Sun by 5 million times. The binary system consists of two massive stars in a tight 5.5-year orbit, shrouded in an expanding veil of gas and dust from an enormous eruption seen in the 1840s. Now a study using archival data from NASA’s Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes has found five similar objects in other galaxies for the first time.

Hubble sees a galactic sunflower

12 September 2015 Astronomy Now

Galactic arms, sunflowers and whirlpools are only a few examples of nature’s apparent preference for spirals. A beautiful example is Messier 63, nicknamed the Sunflower Galaxy, its winding arms shining bright due to the presence of recently formed, blue–white giant stars and clusters, readily seen in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image.