Stirling Astronomical Society Gallery

M101, the famous Pinwheel Galaxy, is a splendid spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. Almost twice the size of our own Milky Way, M101 is seen face-on giving an excellent view of the open spiral arms. The red blobs within the arms are HII regions, indicating areas of star formation. The smaller galaxy NGC 5477 (lower right) is a companion of M101, one of a number of dwarf galaxies in the M101 group. Imaged using a triband filter.