Celestial Objects

Whirlpool Galaxy

Spiral Galaxy

Citation Formats

General Reference

Space and Astronomy Atlas. "Whirlpool Galaxy." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://space.interactiveatlas.org/celestial-objects/whirlpool-galaxy.

APA Style

Space and Astronomy Atlas. (n.d.). Whirlpool Galaxy. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://space.interactiveatlas.org/celestial-objects/whirlpool-galaxy

BibTeX

@misc{spaceandastronomyatlas-whirlpool-galaxy,
  author = {Space and Astronomy Atlas},
  title = {Whirlpool Galaxy},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://space.interactiveatlas.org/celestial-objects/whirlpool-galaxy},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51a or NGC 5194, is an interacting grand-design spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus, lying in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy and lies about 31 million light-years away.

Facts

Object Type

Interacting grand-design spiral galaxy 1

Orbital Distance

31 million light-years (9.5 Mpc) from Earth 1

Sources

1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)

Wikimedia FoundationWhirlpool Galaxy, lead section

Quote, Whirlpool Galaxy, lead section

It is 31 million light-years (9.5 megaparsecs/Mpc) away

1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)

Wikimedia FoundationIn Category: Celestial Objects, Whirlpool Galaxy, Wikipedia summary

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