Whirlpool Galaxy

My colleague Johan Fynbo and I recently purchased a small portable telescope called "Seestar S50" which makes astrophotographing so easy it almost feels like cheating. This is an image of the spiral galaxy M51, or the "Whirlpool Galaxy", taken from a dark-ish location in Jylland, Denmark.

The exposure time is 20 minutes, and the field of view is roughly 0.5 degrees a across (the size of a full moon).

The Whirlpool Galaxy was the first galaxy to have its spiral structure revealed, when William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, built himself a giant telescope (1.8 m aperture) and made this hand-drawing of what he saw.

My friend Claus was allowed to made the official video for the beautiful Daniel Johnston song True Love Will Find You In The End. I'm very proud to have my image of the Whirlpool Galaxy included in the background.