Universe  ID: 30969

M101 (Pinwheel Galaxy)

Released on June 18, 2018
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This animation shows the Messier 101 (Pinwheel) Galaxy, with simulated rotation, in visible, then infrared, then X-ray, and finally all three combined.
M101 is a comparable in size to the Milky Way. The disk is 100 billion solar masses, and the central bulge of about 3 billion solar masses. M101 is rich is pinkish star forming regions, many of which are very large and bright. Unlike most spiral galaxies, M101's spiral shape is notably asymmetrical. This is due to the tidal forces from interactions with its companion galaxies. These gravitational interactions compress interstellar hydrogen gas, which then triggers strong star formation activity in M101's spiral arms.
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This animation is the same as above, played twice as fast.
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Spitzer Infrared image of M101
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Hubble Optical image of M101
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Chandra X-ray image of M101
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Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra images combined
 

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Credits

Greg Bacon (STScI): Visualizer
Kip Kuntz (Johns Hopkins University): Image Processing
Fabio Bresolin (University of Hawaii): Image Processing
John Trauger (JPL): Image Processing
Jeremy Mould (NOAO): Image Processing
You-Hua Chu (University of Illinois): Image Processing
Leann Johnson (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Technical Support
Please give credit for this item to:

Video: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI)
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, K. Kuntz (JHU), F. Bresolin (University of Hawaii), J. Trauger (Jet Propulsion Lab), J. Mould (NOAO), Y.-H. Chu (University of Illinois, Urbana), and STScI

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30969

Missions:
Chandra X-Ray Observatory
Hubble
Spitzer Space Telescope

Data Used:
Spitzer Space Telescope
NASA JPL/Cal Tech
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Hubble Space Telescope
Observed Data
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Chandra/Telescope System
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Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.

Keywords:
SVS >> Galaxy
SVS >> Gas
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> Hydrogen
SVS >> Hyperwall
SVS >> Star
NASA Science >> Universe
SVS >> Star Formation