Messier 51 is a pair of interacting galaxies in Canes Venatici, some 32 million lightyears away. It is also referred to as The Whirlpool Galaxy. The main galaxy appears to be undergoing an increased period of star formation in its central region. It was the first galaxy to have been classified as a spiral galaxy.
This image was taken using a ZWO533MC Pro through a Celestron 8” EdgeHD SCT at F7 atop a Celestron CGEM-DX. It was taken the nights of April 28th, 29th, and 30th 2022. The image is composed of 48x 300s exposures for a total of 4h of integration.
This image was taken from my backyard observatory, just outside of the the village of White Lake, Ontario.