Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) Observation Details
M51 Daily Motion
M51 will be visible until September, 25, when it will move too close to the Sun. During this time, its proximity to the Sun will cause it to disappear from the night sky, making it unobservable for a while.
M51 Visibility Timetable on March 26
M51 Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| Moon Rise, 21% illuminated | 05:26 | 60° |
| Moon Set | 15:34 | -4° |
| M51 rise | 16:59 | |
| Sunset | 19:46 | 18° |
| Civil sunset | 20:14 | 22° |
| Astrosession begin | 21:16 | 31° |
| M51 transit | 02:45 | 81° |
| Astrosession end | 05:56 | 54° |
| Civil sunrise | 06:58 | 43° |
| Sunrise | 07:26 | 39° |
| M51 set | 12:30 |
Track M51 Position Throughout the Night
← Wed, 26 March 2025 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
M51 - Whirlpool Galaxy
The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1773. M51 is famous for its grand-design spiral structure and its interaction with a smaller galaxy, NGC 5195.
M51 spans about 76,000 light-years across and contains a massive population of stars, gas, and dust. The galaxy is approximately 23 million light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 8.4, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope.
M51 Image Gallery
DSS Blue
DSS Red
DSS Near-Infrared
DSS Composite image
The photos are taken from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), which was produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) under NASA contract, using data from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS II).
Special thanks to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, and the California Institute of Technology for their significant contributions.
Finder Chart for M51
| Object name | M51 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M51 coordinates | 13.49798, 47.19517 |
| Center coordinates | 13.49798, 47.19517 |
M51 Passage Through Night
Current position of M51
| Time | 22:57 |
| Latitude | 37.751 |
| Longitude | -97.822 |
| M51 elevation | 48° |
| M51 Azimuth | -58° |
Annual motion of M51
| Date | Thu, 27 March 2025 |
| Twighlight start | 21:17 |
| Twighlight end | 05:53 |
| Twighlight duration | 9h 37m |
| Rise | 16:55 |
| Set | 12:26 |
| Elevation at transit | 81° |
| Transit time | 02:41 |
| Equatorial coordinates | RA: 13h 29m 52s", Dec: 47° 11' 42s |
| Magnitude | 8 |
| Constellation | Canes Venatici |
The graph is structured with the vertical axis showing the hours of the day, ranging from 12 AM to 12 AM the next day, while the horizontal axis spans each day of the year.
The reddish shaded area indicates the periods when the M51 is above the horizon, visible to observers. The white line marks the times when the celestial object reaches its highest point in the sky each day, known as the transit.
Data Credits
The nebulae information on this page is sourced from the OpenNGC project, developed by Matteo Verga. OpenNGC provides detailed data on the NGC catalog, which is a valuable resource for exploring deep-sky objects such as nebulae.
For more details or to contribute to OpenNGC, visit the official GitHub repository: OpenNGC on GitHub.