Chandra Release - November 24, 2008

Visual Description: M101

An X-ray image from Chandra of a spiral galaxy named M101 is shown. The image is dominated by pinkish-purple and blue on a solid black background.  The image has a brightly glowing center with chunky and mottled curved arms.  The overall shape of M101 resembles a textured pinwheel floating in a dark space, and with bright spots sprinkled liberally across the pinwheel.  With a diameter of about 170,000 light years, the galaxy Messier 101 (M101) is a swirling spiral of stars, gas, and dust whose diameter is nearly twice that of our Milky Way Galaxy. Its orientation allows telescopes to see the spiral structure of the galaxy face-on, giving inspiration for its nickname of the Pinwheel Galaxy. The point-like sources include binary star systems containing black holes and neutron stars, and the remains of supernova explosions. Other sources of X-rays include hot gas in the arms of the galaxy and clusters of massive stars.