Pinwheel Galaxy
(M101, NGC 5457, Messier 101)
(easily-observed spiral galaxy)
The Pinwheel Galaxy (M101, Messier 101,
or NGC 5457)
is a spiral galaxy about
21 million light-years' distant that is oriented
moderately close to perpendicular to the line of sight,
i.e., so the spiral is fully in view,
an advantage for its study.
It is classified as a grand design spiral galaxy,
i.e., showing a very clear spiral structure.
Recent Type Ia supernova, SN 2011fe,
was in M101.
(galaxy,spiral)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinwheel_Galaxy
http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-basic?Ident=M101
Redshift | Parsecs /Distance | Lightyears /Lookback Years | | |
.0015 | 6Mpc | 21.0Mly | | Pinwheel Galaxy |
|
Coordinates: | M101 J140312.6+542057 |
|
Referenced by pages:
grand design spiral galaxy
Great Debate
Morgan classification
spiral galaxy
Index