Herschel's test view of M51
Date: 19 June 2009
Satellite: Herschel
Depicts: Composite PACS image of spiral galaxy M51
Copyright: ESA and the PACS consortium
Glowing light from clouds of dust and gas around and between the stars is visible clearly. These clouds are a reservoir of raw material for ongoing star formation in this galaxy. Blue indicates regions of warm dust that is heated by young stars, while the colder dust shows up in red.
Last Update: 1 September 2019