Galaxy
Whirlpool Galaxy
A grand-design spiral galaxy interacting with a smaller companion galaxy, NGC 5195.
- Type
- Galaxy
- Domain
- Scientific connections
- Connections
- 2
NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team STScI/AURA Acknowledgement: N. Scoville Caltech and T. Rector NOAO · NASA media (public domain)
- Type: Galaxy
- Domain: Scientific connections

Experience system V6
Galaxy morphology profile
A deep-sky composition that treats the object as a physical structure, not a decorative background image.
- 01
Observe
HUBBLE imagery anchors the visual reading with licensed source metadata.
- 02
Measure
Measurement panels use graph coverage, catalog identifiers, and source availability without inventing values.
- 03
Locate
Studied by Hubble Space Telescope.
- 04
Connect
2 graph relations shape the knowledge viewport.
- Object type
- Galaxy
- Graph relations
- 2
- Verified sources
- 2
- Image records
- 4
- Domain
- Scientific connections
- Status
- Graph entity
Scientific map
Atlas context
- Studied by
Hubble Space Telescope
- Associated with
Spiral Galaxy
Original SVG diagram
Deep-sky morphology
- Object class
- Galaxy
- Catalog numbers
- Not recorded
- Image records
- 4
- Graph relations
- 2
Visual knowledge graph
Relationships, not isolated facts
This viewport is generated from the Asteria knowledge graph. Science, culture, and interpretive links remain separated by domain so visual context never changes the evidentiary meaning of a relation.
- Studied byHubble Space Telescope
- Associated withSpiral Galaxy
Image provenance
Photography as evidence

Whirlpool Galaxy
NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team STScI/AURA Acknowledgement: N. Scoville Caltech and T. Rector NOAO · NASA media (public domain)

The Two-faced Whirlpool Galaxy
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center · NASA media (public domain)

The Two-faced Whirlpool Galaxy
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center · NASA media (public domain)

A Whirlpool 'Warhol' Shows Galaxy in Different Light
NASA/JPL-Caltech · NASA media (public domain)
Continue the atlas
Curated next objects
Hubble Space Telescope
galaxy morphologySpiral Galaxy
A flattened, rotating disk of stars, gas, and dust wound into spiral arms, with a central bulge. The arms are where new stars form, tracing waves of star formation sweeping through the disk.
galaxyAndromeda Galaxy
The nearest large spiral galaxy to the Milky Way and the most distant object readily visible to the naked eye.
nebulaEagle Nebula
A young open cluster embedded in a star-forming nebula, famous for the 'Pillars of Creation' imaged by Hubble.
galaxySombrero Galaxy
A galaxy notable for its bright nucleus and a prominent dust lane that gives it a hat-like appearance.
galaxyTriangulum Galaxy
A spiral galaxy in the Local Group, the third-largest member after Andromeda and the Milky Way.
Observation
How this was captured
- Source
- HUBBLE
- Observation date
- 1999-12-04
Gallery
The Two-faced Whirlpool Galaxy
NASA image release January 13, 2011 <b><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/5352962836">These images</a></b> by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope show off two dramatically different face-on views of the spiral galaxy…
2017
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center · NASA media (public domain)
Data
Scientific data & provenance
Data & provenance
- Stable ID
galaxy:whirlpool-galaxy- Type
- Galaxy
- Domain
- Scientific connections
- Relationships
- 2
- Graph version
- 1.0.0
Dataset membership
Open data
In the graph export: graph.json · graph.jsonld
Planned API: GET /api/v0/entities/galaxy:whirlpool-galaxy
Scientific quality
Partial3 of 6 applicable dimensions complete, 1 partial
- Description
- Complete
- Source coverage
- Complete
- Relationship coverage
- Partial
- Review coverage
- None
- Citation coverage
- None
- Image coverage
- Complete
- Timeline coverage
- Not applicable
Scientific entity. Dimensions that cannot apply to this object are excluded rather than counted as gaps. See the evidence framework and authority dashboard.
Scientific citations
1Real, source-backed references — primary papers first, then datasets and institutional sources. Formatted through the citation engine; nothing is fabricated.
NASA/IPAC (Caltech)
Cite (APA / BibTeX)
NASA/IPAC (Caltech) (n.d.). Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) — NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. NASA/IPAC (Caltech). https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/ @misc{cite:ned-galaxy-whirlpool-galaxy, title = {Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) — NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database}, organization = {NASA/IPAC (Caltech)}, year = {n.d.}, url = {https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/}, note = {Positions, redshift, and cross-identifications for Whirlpool Galaxy (M51).} }
You might also explore
- GalaxyAndromeda GalaxyLinked through Hubble Space Telescope
- NebulaEagle NebulaLinked through Hubble Space Telescope
- GalaxySombrero GalaxyLinked through Hubble Space Telescope
- GalaxyTriangulum GalaxyLinked through Spiral Galaxy
- Exoplanet2MASS J04414489+2301513 bLinked through Hubble Space Telescope
- Scientific instrumentAdvanced Camera for SurveysLinked through Hubble Space Telescope
Sources & references
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.
- ESAEuropean Space Agency
European missions, observatories, and space science imagery.
