Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)
A cosmic dance partner
M51 is an iconic face-on spiral interacting with smaller galaxy NGC 5195 — a textbook example of gravitational tides shaping galactic arms.
Image: NASA / Hubble
Vital statistics
Type
Grand Design Spiral
Distance
~31 million light-years
Diameter
~76,000 light-years
Constellation
Canes Venatici
Did you know
First galaxy where spiral structure was identified (1845).
Fact 01
Interaction triggers intense star formation.
Fact 02
Research & publications
Jump straight into peer-reviewed papers, preprints and authoritative references for Whirlpool Galaxy (M51).
arXiv (preprints)
Open-access preprints in physics & astrophysics.
NASA ADS
The definitive bibliographic database for astronomy.
Google Scholar
Cross-publisher academic search.
Nature
Peer-reviewed articles in Nature & sister journals.
Wikipedia
Encyclopedic overview & onward references.
Tip: ask the Research AI for a curated reading list → /research
