Whirlpool Galaxy

2026-04-09

NamesWhirlpool Galaxy
Magnitude8.1
Size11.2′ × 6.9′
Ra13h 29m52.7s
Dec+47°11′43″

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. It lies in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy.1

I had about 3 hours of data on this but with a couple of clear nights recently at the end of the season I was able to add just over 3 hours per night extra.

Whirlpool Galaxy

Photo Details

TelescopeSeestar S-50
Dates2024-02-01, 2024-02-08 2024-12-14, 2025-01-10, 2026-04-06, 2026-04-07
Integration time9 hours 11 minutes 30 seconds

Footnotes

  1. Wikipedia