The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51 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.
Viewing Location – My House
- Lat/Lon: 34.11065, -117.65362
- Sky Magnitude: 18.45 magnitudes/square arcsecond
- Sky Luminance: 4.50 mcd/m2
- Bortle Scale: 7 (suburban/urban transition)…which is pretty awful for star-gazing, but it’s only 20ft from my patio… so it’s convenient.
Observation
- Catalog Designation: Messier 51 or NGC 5194
- Celestial Coordinates: RA 13h 29m 53s | Dec +47° 11′ 43″
- Observation Duration: 1 night, 317 x 30sec = 158 minutes
- CCD temperature in degrees Celsius: 22
USE IMAGE SLIDER TO SHOW/HIDE ANNOTATIONS
Annotations provided by Astrometry.net through an automated process of “plate solving”.
ZOOM – FULL SCREEN
Surrounding Constellation – Canes Venatici
Canes Venatici is Latin for ‘hunting dogs’, and the constellation is often depicted in illustrations as representing the dogs of Boötes the Herdsman, a neighboring constellation.
