M 96
M 96 is a double barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Leo, approximately 35 million light years from Earth. It is about equal in size and mass as our own Milky Way Galaxy.
NGC 2903
NGC 2903 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Leo, about 20-30 million light years from Earth.
NGC 2683 – UFO Galaxy
NGC 2683 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Lynx, approximately 20 million light years from Earth. Nicknamed the UFO Galaxy due to its edge on appearance, the galaxy is both smaller and dimmer than our own Milky Way.
M 101 – Pinwheel Galaxy
M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy, is a face-on spiral galaxy approximately 21 million light years from Earth. The galaxy is approximately the same size as our own Milky Way Galaxy (170,000 light years in diameter).
NGC 660
NGC 660 is a peculiar polar ring galaxy somewhere between 26 and 48 million light years from Earth and about 1/3 the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy. As a result of two galaxies merging, the dust lanes have created an “X” pattern.
This image was selected by Photographing Space as Image of the Week, March 12 2018.
M 51 – Whirlpool Galaxy
M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, a face-on spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici, is somewhere around 25 million light years from Earth. It is estimated to be about 35% the size of our own Milky Way.
M 31 – Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda Galaxy, at 2.5 million light years from Earth, is our nearest galactic neighbor. Consisting of 1 trillion stars, Andromeda is scheduled to merge with the Milky Way in about 4.5 billion years.
M 51 – Whirlpool Galaxy
The Whirlpool Galaxy, approximately 25 million light years from Earth, was the first galaxy classified as a spiral galaxy. Seen here interacting with its smaller neighbor, NGC 5195.
NGC 4395
NGC 4395 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici.
NGC 5317
NGC 5317 is a spiral galaxy in Virgo approximately 54 million light years from Earth. The galaxy in the upper left corner is NGC 5360, a magnitude 13.7 barred spiral that is only 1.6 arcminutes x 42 arc seconds in apparent size, by far the smallest we’ve been able to capture in such detail.