Alternate Names

NGC 5194/5195, Whirlpool Galaxy

Type

Supermassive

Location

in the constellation Canes Venatici, beneath the Big Dipper

Finder Chart

Distance

27 million light-years

Mass

1 million times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter of 4 million miles (6 million km), about four times the diameter of the Sun.

Discovery Methods

• Detection of an accretion disk

1

An ultraviolet view of M51 from the orbiting GALEX spacecraft. The spiral arms are clearly outlined because they contain many hot, young stars, which produce lots of ultraviolet energy. []

This document was last modified: October 24, 2005.