The Whirlpool Galaxy, or M51, is a grand-design spiral galaxy 31 million light-years away. Gravitational interactions with NGC 5195 (the small yellow galaxy to the left) have spawned intense stellar formation, producing blue pockets of young, hot stars and red regions of ionized hydrogen. Gravitational interactions have also produced the faint tidal streams extending away from M51, which are thousands of light-years long!
Acquisition Date: April 24-April 29, 2022
Acquisition Site: Backyard
Image Details: L 197 x 180s (9h 51m), R 113 x 180s (5h 39m), G 76 x 180s (3h 48m), B 91 x 180s (4h 33m)
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM-Pro, PlaneWave CDK12.5, AP1200GTO, Astrodon LRGB, Astrodon MOAG