The Whirlpool Galaxy

This stunning face-on galaxy is the first of its "spiral arm" classification, with a neighboring galaxy that can be seen at the tip of one of the spiral arms. These two galaxies are locked in gravitational warfare, with the Whirlpool Galaxy seemingly claiming victory over its now wispy companion. The tidal features of hazy dust around the galaxies is a result of the interaction of the two galaxies, and can only be seen in long exposure photography such as this image. The Whirlpool Galaxy lies about 31 million light years away from Earth and measures in at about 78,000 light years across, making it only slightly smaller than our own Milky Way Galaxy. This image uses exposures that I gathered from my backyard in April of 2022, encompassing roughly 38 hours of integrated exposure time.

Please note this image is heavily compressed for the website. You can view the full resolution JPEG file here: https://www.astrobin.com/rosuly/D/