- LOCATION: Below Alkaid, last star in Big Dipper handle …
- DISTANCE: 30 Million LY …
- SIZE: 160 Billion stars …
What Makes The Whirlpool Galaxy Beautiful by Design
M51 is an impressive space object to behold. It displays Divine design in it’s beauty, structure, and the puzzles that it presents to astronomers. A Spitzer Space telescope infrared image reveals some puzzles. There are a large number of thin strands of red emission between the arms of the galaxy. Unlike the beady appearance of the dust seen in the arms themselves, these features are spoke-like thin and regular. They’re abundant in the gaps all over the face of the galaxy.
In addition, there is a contrast in the distribution of dust and stars between the main galaxy and its faint companion galaxy. While the spiral is rich in brilliant dust, as seen in infrared, its blue companion shows little infrared emission and contains what astronomers consider to be older stars. The spectacular whirlpool design of M51 and an apparent collision with its neighbor galaxy are breathtaking. This is truly a wonder in God’s creation. See the Spitzer infrared view of the Whirlpool Galaxy here. And see infrared video near bottom of this post.
There is also what appears very much the shape of a cross at the galaxy’s nucleus. Perhaps by design of the One Who created all things? … See photo at bottom of this post.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it. – John 1:1-5 CSB
About
Brightness: Magnitude 8.4
Location: Constellation of Canes Venatici, 3.5 degrees southeast of Alkaid, the star at the end of the Big Dipper’s handle.
Distance: 28 to 30 million light years
Viewing: Winter and Spring
Location
The Whirlpool Galaxy has a smaller companion: NGC 5195, which is interacting with it. The two galaxies can be seen with binoculars under very dark skies.
M51 is the dominant member of a small group of galaxies that include M63 (Sunflower), NGC 5023, and NGC 5229.
Note the dust in the shape of a cross at the center of the galaxy. This strange object is probably within a central black hole surrounded by a ring of dust. Another ring crosses the first one on a different axis, giving the appearance of a cross at the galaxy’s nucleus. Random? Or by design?
It is about 35% the size of the Milky Way, contains about 160 billion stars, and is about 43,000 light years across.
The Buzz
- BBC The Sky at Night on YouTube
- NASA’s Article and Photos
- Hubble
- Messier Objects
- SciTechDail (Changing Understanding of Giant Molecular Clouds)
Photos:
[pgc_simply_gallery id=”3102″]
Above video from the Infrared Universe at WEBB Space Telescope.
Photos courtesy Cosmotography, NASA APOD, Hubble, NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), and SDSS. WEBB Space Telescope video courtesy NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI).
All images are © copyright their respective holders. Used by general permission per their respective websites. Images may not be used for business use or for uses not intended by the copyright holders. In most cases images may not be cropped or modified.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.