Galaxies · 2021

Whirlpool Galaxy

M51

Distance: 28 million light-years
Telescopes: Chandra, Hubble, Spitzer, GALEX

A grand-design spiral, arm in arm with a smaller companion. Four NASA telescopes cover X-ray through ultraviolet.

What you’re hearing

Each kind of light occupies its own frequency band. Start with the full mix, then solo X-ray, infrared, visible, or ultraviolet to hear what each telescope uniquely sees.

Layers

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NASA source

NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)

Whirlpool Galaxy

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