Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for January 14, 2026 is “M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Michael Sleeman). The original explanation runs about 131 words.

A big spiral galaxy fills the frame, complete with blue spiral arms dotted with red dust and nebulas. Above the spiral galaxy is another more diffuse galaxy that has faint wisps extending in many directions. Please see the explanation for m
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Michael Sleeman Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“The Whirlpool Galaxy is a classic spiral galaxy. At only 30 million light years distant and fully 60 thousand light years across, M51 , also known as NGC 5194, is one of the brightest and most picturesque galaxies on the sky.”

— APOD editors, January 14, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
January 14, 2026
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Michael Sleeman
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 131 words

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Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: January 14 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.