Whirlpool Square At a relatively bright magnitude

At a relatively bright magnitude of +8

revealing a complex structure

The active region on the left of the image shows its own loops as well as streams of plasma jumping back and forth

This cluster is located around 15 000 light-years away from us and contains millions of stars

This sharpest-ever image of the Whirlpool Galaxy

Whirlpool Square At a relatively bright magnitudeThe graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 (NGC 5194) appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. This sharpest ever image of the Whirlpool Galaxy, taken in January 2005 with the Advanced Camera for Surveys aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, illustrates a spiral galaxy's grand design, from its curving spiral arms, where young stars reside, to its