Image-processed radio map of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51),made at the 21 cm wavelength with the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in New Mexico. At a distance of 20 million light years,M51 has well-defined spiral arms which are clearly visible in this map. The upper arm is disturbed by the gravitational pull of M51's companion galaxy,NGC 5195,which is the bright red & yellow spot near the top. The bright red spot at centre left is a star between Earth & M51. The colour coding runs from red for highest radio emission,through yellow,green,pale blue & dark blue to purple for the lowest emission | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / Kapteyn Laboratorium |
Taille de l’image : | 3543 px × 2503 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |