M101; Pinwheel Galaxy
This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic Camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Informally known as the Pinwheel Galaxy, M101 is a spiral galaxy that is seen face on. It is a galaxy similar to our own galaxy, the Milky Way. It is relatively close by, only about 20 million light years away, meaning that we can see detail inside very well. The spiral arms of M101 are filled with numerous regions in which stars are forming (seen as pink clouds of gas). This image was made with the U (violet), B (blue), V (green), I (orange), and Hydrogen alpha (red) filters. In this image, North is to the right and East is up.
Credit:T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)
About the Image
| Id: | noao-m101ubviha |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | June 30, 2020, 9:33 p.m. |
| Size: | 7296 x 7353 px |
About the Object
| Name: | M101, Pinwheel Galaxy |
| Constellation: | Ursa Major |
| Category: | Galaxies |
Image Formats
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 14 3 52.27 |
| Position (Dec): | 54° 9' 54.51" |
| Field of view: | 31.65 x 31.81 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 89.9° left of vertical |
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colors & filters
| Band | Wave-length | Tele-scope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical U | 357 nm | Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope Mosaic I |
| Optical B | 436 nm | Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope Mosaic I |
| Optical V | 537 nm | Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope Mosaic I |
| Optical I | 805 nm | Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope Mosaic I |
| Optical Ha | 656 nm | Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope Mosaic I |