A true-color image of M51 taken with the William Herschel Telescope, part of the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes at La Palma, Spain.

Javier Méndez and Nik Szymanek

One of the loveliest galaxy sights for Northern Hemisphere observers is the galaxy known as the Whirlpool (M51). It can be spotted as a faint fuzzy patch through a pair of binoculars. To find it, follow the handle of the Big Dipper away from the dipper's bowl. Just off the tip of the handle (the last bright star) to the south and west you should be able to spot the Whirlpool, along with a companion galaxy called NGC 5195. These two galaxies are interacting with each other, and NGC 5195's gravitational pull is triggering star formation in the Whirlpool, creating glowing blue clusters of young and energetic stars. These two galaxies lie about 37 million light-years away from us, and the Whirlpool was the first galaxy in which astronomers could clearly see spiral arms.

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