The Whirlpool Galaxy
![](https://cdn.sci.esa.int/documents/34247/35306/1567213709000-i_screenimage_16053.jpg)
Depicts: M51, NGC 5194, The Whirlpool Galaxy, IRAS 13277+4727
Copyright: Nino Panagia (Space Telescope Science Institute and European Space Agency) and NASA
Astronomers estimate that it is about 400 million years old and has a mass 40 million times larger than our Sun.
The concentration of stars is about 5,000 times higher than in our solar neighborhood, the Milky Way Galaxy. We would see a continuously bright sky if we lived near the bright center.
Last Update: 1 September 2019