Detail View: : Hubble Reveals the Heart of the Whirlpool Galaxy

Collection: 
NASA Hubble Space Telescope Collection
Title: 
Hubble Reveals the Heart of the Whirlpool Galaxy
Object Name: 
M51
Object Name: 
The Whirlpool Galaxy
General Information: 
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]
Acknowledgement: 
*Image Credit:* NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/ ] and The Hubble Heritage [ http://heritage.stsci.edu ] Team (STScI [ http://www.stsci.edu/ ]/AURA [ http://www.aura-astronomy.org/ ])
Acknowledgement: 
*Acknowledgment:* N. Scoville (Caltech) and T. Rector (NOAO)
Fast Facts: 
Technical facts about this news release: About this Object Obejct Name: Whirlpool Galaxy • M51 • NGC 5194 Object Description: Face-on Spiral Galaxy with Companion Position (J2000): R.A. 13h 29m 52.37s Dec. +47° 11' 40.8" Constellation: Canes Venatici Distance: About 9.6 Mpc (31 million light-years) Visual Magnitude: 8.4 Dimensions: The image is roughly 9.3 kpc (30,000 light-years) in the vertical dimension. About the Data Note: The release image of M51 was created from WFPC2 archived HST data from science programs by N. Scoville (Prop 7375), H. Ford (Prop 5123), and R. Kirshner (Prop 5777). HST data have been superimposed onto BVRI and Ha ground-based data, taken by Travis Rector (NOAO) at the 0.9 meter telecope located on Kitt Peak, Tucson, AZ (NOAO/AURA/NSF). Instrument: WFPC2 Exposure Dates: January 15/24, 1995; July 21, 1999 Exposure Time: 5.7 hour Filters: Prop 7375: F439W (B), F555W (V), F656N (Ha), F814W (I) Prop 5123: F547M (y), F656N (Ha) Prop 5777: F439W (B), F555W (V), F814W (I) Ground-based Data: B, V, R, I, Ha 0.9-meter telescope KPNO (NOAO/AURA) Principal Astronomers: N. Scoville (Caltech), M. Polletta (U. Geneva), S. Ewald and S. Stolovy (Caltech), R.Thompson and M. Rieke (U. of Arizona) H. Ford (JHU), B. Margon (University of Washington), A. Davidsen (JHU), R. Bohlin (STScI), E. Beaver (UCSD), F. Bartko (Bartko Science & Technology), R. Harms (RJH Scientific, Inc.), R. Angel (University of Arizona), M. Burbidge (UCSD) R. Kirshner (Harvard University), N. Panagia (STScI), N. Suntzeff (NOAO/CTIO), B. Leibundgut (ESO Germany), A. Filippenko (UC Berkeley), C. Fransson (Stockholm University), J. Wheeler (U Texas Austin) About this Image Image Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Release Date: April 5, 2001 9:00 a.m. (EDT) Orientation: The Heart of the Whirlpool Galaxy
note: 
*Image Type:*: Astronomical
note: 
*Release Date*:April 5, 2001 09:00 AM (EDT)
note: 
*News Release Number:*: STScI-2001-10a
note: 
*Title*:Hubble Reveals the Heart of the Whirlpool Galaxy
note: 
*Description*: New images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are helping researchers view in unprecedented detail the spiral arms and dust clouds of a nearby galaxy, which are the birth sites of massive and luminous stars. The Whirlpool galaxy, M51, has been one of the most photogenic galaxies in amateur and professional astronomy. Easily photographed and viewed by smaller telescopes, this celestial beauty is studied extensively in a range of wavelengths by large ground- and space-based observatories. This Hubble composite image shows visible starlight as well as light from the emission of glowing hydrogen, which is associated with the most luminous young stars in the spiral arms. M51, also known as NGC 5194, is having a close encounter with a nearby companion galaxy, NGC 5195, just off the upper edge of this image. The companion's gravitational pull is triggering star formation in the main galaxy, as seen in brilliant detail by numerous, luminous clusters of young and energetic stars. The bright clusters are highlighted in red by their associated emission from glowing hydrogen gas. This Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 image enables a research group, led by Nick Scoville (Caltech), to clearly define the structure of both the cold dust clouds and the hot hydrogen and link individual clusters to their parent dust clouds. Team members include M. Polletta (U. Geneva); S. Ewald and S. Stolovy (Caltech); R. Thompson and M. Rieke (U. of Arizona). Intricate structure is also seen for the first time in the dust clouds. Along the spiral arms, dust "spurs" are seen branching out almost perpendicular to the main spiral arms. The regularity and large number of these features suggests to astronomers that previous models of "two-arm" spiral galaxies may need to be revisited. The new images also reveal a dust disk in the nucleus, which may provide fuel for a nuclear black hole. The team is also studying this galaxy at near-infrared wavelengths with the NICMOS instrument onboard Hubble. At these wavelengths, the dusty clouds are more transparent and the true distribution of stars is more easily seen. In addition, regions of star formation that are obscured in the optical images are newly revealed in the near-infrared images. This image was composed by the Hubble Heritage Team from Hubble archival data of M51 and is superimposed onto ground-based data taken by Travis Rector (NOAO) at the 0.9-meter telescope at the National Science Foundation's Kitt Peak National Observatory (NOAO/AURA) in Tucson, AZ.
facet_what: 
Camera 2
facet_what: 
ESO
facet_what: 
Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
facet_what: 
Canes Venatici
facet_what: 
NICMOS
facet_what: 
COMPASS
facet_what: 
Aura
facet_what: 
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_where: 
Whirlpool Galaxy
facet_where: 
Texas
facet_where: 
Washington
facet_where: 
Arizona
facet_where: 
M51
facet_where: 
Germany
facet_where: 
NGC 5194
facet_where: 
Stockholm
facet_where: 
Austin
facet_where: 
Geneva
facet_where: 
NGC 5195
facet_where: 
Washington, D.C.
facet_when: 
July 21, 1999
facet_when: 
April 5, 2001
facet_when_year: 
1999
facet_when_year: 
2001
UID: 
SPD-HUBBLE-STScI-2001-10a
original url: 
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2001/10/image/a/
Release Date: 
April 5, 2001 09:00 AM (EDT)
Image ID: 
113709
Resolution Size: 
5
Format: 
JP2
Media Type: 
Image
File Name: 
full_tif.jp2
Width: 
1645
Height: 
2050