Stirling Astronomical Society Gallery
M101 Pinwheel
22 Apr 2026
M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy
© Alan Cayless all rights reserved.
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.
All images on this website are © Stirling Astronomical Society and/or the individual contributors as specified.