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SARA
The Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy
M51
The Whirlpool Galaxy, also known as Messier 51, M51, or NGC 5194, is an interacting spiral galaxy with a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus. It is found in the constellation Canes Venatici, and was the first galaxy to be classified as a spiral galaxy. M51 is 23.16 million light years away, and has a diameter of 30,000 light years. This image was taken by SARA RM.
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