WIYN/NOAO: M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, seen with new ODI Camera on WIYN Telescope

[Ptah]

The Whirlpool Galaxy (Messier 51) has been a popular night sky target for
astronomers for centuries. Charles Messier first identified it in 1773 and listed
it as number 51 in his catalog. To him, it looked like a faint, fuzzy object that
might be a comet. William Parsons, the 3rd Earl of Rosse, used his 72-inch
telescope “Leviathan” to observe the Whirlpool in 1845. Since then, Messier 51
has likely been targeted by virtually every telescope in the northern hemisphere.
It is found in the constellation Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs) and is a
classic example of a spiral galaxy.

Now, a new camera on the WIYN 3.5-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory
has imaged the Whirlpool Galaxy anew. The wide field of the One Degree Imager (ODI)
camera makes it possible to capture the entire galaxy and its companion in one
pointing, something that even the Hubble Space Telescope cannot do.

Indiana University (IU) astronomy professor Katherine Rhode led this effort as part
of an imaging survey of spiral and elliptical galaxies. The survey is aimed at
understanding how these so-called “giant galaxies” form and evolve.

“The WIYN telescope is an ideal telescope for the survey because of its wide field
and because it produces some of the sharpest, highest-quality images possible
with a ground-based telescope”, explained Rhode. “WIYN’s 3.5-meter mirror is
also very efficient at gathering light from astronomical objects, so it allows us
to image faint objects, like individual star clusters within the galaxies.”

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http://www.noao.edu/news/2013/pr1309.php

[longship]

1. I love the dust lanes twirling amongst the spiral arms.

I have looked at M51 on multiple occasions with my 256 mm Dobsonian reflector. It always comes out as two bright areas from the galactic core and the satellite galaxy. Spiral arms are regrettably absent except for a dull haze achieved only by averting ones vision in the eyepiece.

Nearby galaxies are big, but dim. One needs aperture to resolve them, or long time exposures with a sensitive camera. Unfortunately ones eyeball has neither.

Still, seeing this iconic galaxy through a widefield eyepiece is a wonderful experience.

Thanks.