M51 - "Whirlpool Galaxy" in Canes Venatici
M51 was one of Charles Messier's first discoveries. He found it on October 13, 1773 while observing a comet. The small companion galaxy (NGC 5195) was discovered by Messier's friend, Pierre Mechain in 1781. M51's pronounced spiral structure is the result of its interaction with NGC 5195. This caused compression in its arms, leading to massive star formation. This galaxy was the first to have its spiral structure indentified by Lord Rosse in 1845.
Telescope: Orion 10 in. Newtonian with Baader coma corrector
Camera: Modified Canon 550D; ISO 1600; Raw capture
Mount: Losmandy G-11
Guiding: Orion SSAG on Lumicon 50mm finder scope
Exposures:

30 @ 3min.

Note:

Images were focused, aligned, and combined with ImagePlus.
The final image was adjusted and cropped in Photoshop.
Shot from my backyard observatory in southeastern Minnesota on 5/13/12. Temp: 40F; Humidity: 60%

 

 
   
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