Whirlpool Galaxy

galaxies · space · spiral

Spiral arm master. The Whirlpool Galaxy has beautiful spiral arms that curl around like a giant pinwheel in space. These arms are made of stars, gas, and dust all swirling together.

History-making discovery. This galaxy was the very first one astronomers discovered and recognized as having a spiral shape. Before this, scientists didn't even know spiral galaxies existed.

Incredibly far away. The Whirlpool Galaxy is 31 million light-years from Earth, which means the light we see from it today started traveling toward us millions of years ago.

Galactic dance partners. The Whirlpool Galaxy is actually interacting with a smaller galaxy nearby, and their gravity is pulling on each other like two cosmic dancers in a long, slow waltz.

Massive and majestic. This galaxy is truly enormous, measuring about 76,900 light-years across. That's so big that our entire Milky Way galaxy could fit inside it more than once.