Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

M51: Cosmic Whirlpool

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for November 11, 2006 is “M51: Cosmic Whirlpool,” an image. It is credited to Credit: S. Beckwith ( STScI ) Hubble Heritage Team , (STScI/ AURA ), ESA , NASA. The original explanation runs about 142 words.

M51: Cosmic Whirlpool
Credit: S. Beckwith ( STScI ) Hubble Heritage Team , (STScI/ AURA ), ESA , NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Follow the handle of the Big Dipper away from the dipper’s bowl, until you get to the handle’s last bright star. Then, just slide your telescope a little south and west and you might find this stunning pair of interacting galaxies, the 51st entry in Charles Messier’s famous catalog.”

— APOD editors, November 11, 2006

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
November 11, 2006
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: S. Beckwith ( STScI ) Hubble Heritage Team , (STScI/ AURA ), ESA , NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 142 words

All of November 2006 → · 2006 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: November 11 in other years

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Source

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.