Messier M51
Whirlpool Galaxy
Galaxy
Canes Venatici
Moderate
Interacting face-on spiral with companion NGC 5195; classic long-focal-length target.
Angular size
11.2′ × 6.9′
Magnitude
8.4
Best months
Mar-Jun
Constellation
Canes Venatici
Catalog IDs
M51;NGC 5194;M51a
Common aliases
Whirlpool;Question Mark Galaxy