Whale Galaxy
The Whale Galaxy (NGC 4631). It’s a spiral galaxy viewed edge on. The common names for deep sky objects are often fanciful, but doesn’t this really look like a humpback whale (with tiny baby galaxy swimming below it)?
[20″ CDK f/6.8 with FLI PL09000 camera @ Mt. Teide Observatory, Canary Islands, Spain]
Pinwheel Galaxy – M101
The Pinwheel Galaxy (M101 or NGC 5457) is a face-on spiral galaxy about 21 million light years away.
[Takahashi 150mm APO at f/7.3 with SBIG ST-8300C 8.3 megapixel color CCD @ New Mexico]
Whirlpool Galaxy M51
A better image of Whirlpool Galaxy (Messier 51, also known as NGC 5194). Ten 1 minute exposures stacked and summed. This is one of the prettiest galaxies out there; being seen face-on, the spiral arms are well defined and symmetrical. It’s also an interacting pair, with the main galaxy in the process of devouring the smaller one (known as M51B or NGC 5195). The little fuzzy blob on the left is another galaxy IC 4283.
[Takahashi 150mm APO at f/7.3 with SBIG ST-8300C 8.3 megapixel color CCD @ New Mexico]
Compare with previous image of M51 taken with a different scope.
Whirlpool Galaxy (Messier 51, also known as NGC 5194)
Quick & dirty image of Whirlpool Galaxy (Messier 51, also known as NGC 5194) in black & white. It deserves a better treatment; I plan to revisit M51 sometime later to do a better job.
[Takahashi Epsilon 250 Astrograph at f/3.4 with SBIG ST-10XME 3.2 megapixel CCD @ New Mexico]