Copyright:
Michael Sleeman
中文翻譯:
在星空中，有一個美麗的漩渦星系，叫做Whirlpool Galaxy（海漩渦星系）。它距離我們有三千萬光年，那麼遙遠的距離讓我們感到驚奇！這個星系的寬度有六萬光年呢，真是巨巨大！這幅迷人的圖片是通過在中國麗江用望遠鏡拍攝的58小時的數碼圖像合成而成的。其實，即使是有一副好望遠鏡的朋友們，也能在獵犬座（Canes Venatici）的方向上看到這個漩渦星系。Whirlpool Galaxy是屬於螺旋型星系中的Sc型，並且它是整個星系群中最重要的成員。天文學家們認為，這個星系的旋渦形狀主要是因為它和它上面的小星系之間的引力互動所造成的。
原文:
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.
來源:NASA每日圖片
