About Whirlpool Galaxy
Whirlpool Galaxy is a rare galaxy. It sits in the constellation CVn and shines at apparent magnitude 8.36.
Home to hundreds of billions of stars — a universe unto itself.
Rare galaxy 40 EP
Whirlpool Galaxy
RA 202.4696° · Dec 47.1952° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 3 badgesRare 46 pts → Epic
- Galaxy +20
- Messier object +12
- Has a proper name +8
Total score 40
6 more points to reach Epic.
Badges
- Galaxy · +20
- Messier object · +12
- Has a proper name · +8
Trivia
How we found it
- Named. Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.
Cosmic context
- Scale. Home to hundreds of billions of stars — a universe unto itself.
Properties
- constellation
- CVn
- dso type
- G
- hubble
- SABb
- mag
- 8.36
- messier
- yes
- messier number
- 051
- name
- Whirlpool Galaxy
- named
- yes
How to see it
Look for Whirlpool Galaxy in the constellation CVn. At apparent magnitude 8.36, it is an easy target for binoculars.
Like any astronomical target, Whirlpool Galaxy is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
Why Whirlpool Galaxy is a rare galaxy
Whirlpool Galaxy scores 40 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 6 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Galaxy, Messier object and Has a proper name — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.