Galaksi Pusaran (Whirlpool Galaxy) from Hubble Space Telescope

Outer Space - The Whirlpool Galaxy (also known as Messier 51a, M51a, or NGC 5194) is a primary design spiral galaxy interaction with the active galactic core Seyfert 2 in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was recently estimated to be 23 ± 4 million light years from the Milky Way, but different methods yield a distance of between 15 and 35 million light years. The Whirlpool Galaxy is one of the most famous galaxies in the sky. The Whirlpool Galaxy and its neighbors (NGC 5195) are easily observed by amateur astronomers, and the two galaxies can even be seen with binoculars. Whirlpool galaxies are also popular targets for professional astronomers, who study them to better understand galaxy structure (especially structures associated with spiral arms) and galaxy interactions.