Galaxies
The Whirlpool Galaxy
(Messier 51 or NGC 5194)
photo by Geoffrey Heller
| Date Taken | April 26, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Location | Olympic Peninsula, Washington USA |
| Exposure | 45 minutes @ 5 minute subs 80 minutes @ 10 minute subs |
| Classification | Interacting Grand Design Spiral Galaxy |
| Constellation | Canes Venatici |
| Distance | 23 Million Light Years |
| Notes | Photo taken at near sea level and under conditions of heavy dew |
| Explanation | The larger spiral galaxy in the center of the photo is M51 also known as NGC 5194. The smaller yellowish galaxy is the interacting companion galaxy NGC 5195. Recent simulations indicate that M51's spiral structure was caused by NGC 5195 passing through the main disk of M51 about 500 to 600 million years ago. A black hole, surrounded by a ring of dust, is thought to exist at the heart of M51's spiral. |
The Triangulum Galaxy
(NGC 598 or Messier 33)
photo by Geoffrey Heller
| Date Taken | September 28, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Location | Table Mountain (near Ellensburg, Washington USA) |
| Exposure | 70 minutes @ 7 minute subs 32 minutes @ 2 minute subs |
| Classification | Spiral Galaxy |
| Constellation | Triangulum |
| Distance | 2.8 Million Light Years |
| Notes | Poor transparency. Had difficulty focusing. |
| Explanation | A spiral galaxy approximately 3 million light-years away in the constellation Triangulum. In 2007, a black hole about 15.7 times the mass of the Sun was detected in the galaxy using data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. |