14 DAY TRIAL // This exquisitely-beautiful image of M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, was snapped by astrophotographer John Chumack. He was gracious enough to share it with Universe Today, and we borrowed it, too. Just look at the amount of details and the level of clarity.
“This is my best and most detailed image of M51 to date, and now my longest exposure on a single object. Definitely a lot of work, but I now feel it was worth all the processing time, which actually exceeded the 17.5 hours of imaging time!” the photographer said.
In addition to the colliding galaxies, the photo also reveals several cosmic formations in the distant background, partially obscured by the dust and gas trails left behind by M51. The photograph was put together from images collected in early 2010 and 2011.