Astronomy Picture of the Day · August 5, 1997

M101: The Pinwheel Galaxy

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 5, 1997 is “M101: The Pinwheel Galaxy,” an image. It is credited to Credit: W. Keel (U. Alabama in Tuscaloosa), KPNO, 4-m Mayall Telescope. The original explanation runs about 108 words.

From the explanation

“Why do many galaxies appear as spirals ? A striking example is M101, shown above , whose relatively close distance of about 22 million light years allow it to be studied in some detail.”

— APOD editors, August 5, 1997

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: August 5, 1997
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: W. Keel (U. Alabama in Tuscaloosa), KPNO, 4-m Mayall Telescope
Copyright: No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 108 words

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Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: August 5 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, August 5, 1997 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-1997-august-05-m101-the-pinwheel-galaxy

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.