M51：漩涡星系
(原标题: M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy)
2026-01-14
浏览次数: 1506
漩涡星系是一个典型的螺旋星系。M51，也被称为NGC 5194，距离我们只有3000万光年，直径整整6万光年，是天空中最明亮、最美丽的星系之一。这张特色的深度图像是用望远镜在中国丽江用58小时拍摄的不同颜色的图像的数字组合。然而，只要有一副好的双筒望远镜，就能看到这个漩涡正朝着猎犬星座（Canes Venatici）。M51是Sc型螺旋星系，是整个星系群的主要成员。天文学家推测，M51的螺旋结构主要是由于它与上方较小星系的引力相互作用。
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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. The featured deep image is a digital combination of images taken in different colors over 58 hours with a telescope from Lijiang, China. Anyone with a good pair of binoculars, however, can see this Whirlpool toward the constellation of the Hunting Dogs (Canes Venatici). M51 is a spiral galaxy of type Sc and is the dominant member of a whole group of galaxies. Astronomers speculate that M51's spiral structure is primarily due to its gravitational interaction with the smaller galaxy just above it.
© Michael Sleeman