PINWHEEL FACTS
The home of interesting Pinwheel galaxy facts for kids and adults.
Pinwheel Facts
The Pinwheel galaxy can be found in the constellation called Ursa Major, which means Greater Bear. Pinwheel is what is known as a ‘grand design’ spiral, which means that it has well-defined spiral arms and dust lanes which extend the whole way around the structure of the galaxy.
There are lots of other interesting facts about the Pinwheel galaxy, and we have included 10 of them here for you. Enjoy.
10 Facts about the Pinwheel Galaxy
1. The Pinwheel galaxy was once misclassified.
The Pinwheel galaxy is almost twice the diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy, at around 170,000 light-years whereas the Milky Way is roughly 100,000 light-years at the lowest estimate. Like a few other galaxies, the Pinwheel was misclassified – in this instance as weak-barred spiral.
Did you know?
While it was once thought the galaxy was a weak-barred spiral, it is now considered a near-perfect representation of a spiral galaxy.
2. Pinwheel galaxy contains a lot of starbirth regions.
There are in excess of 3,000 starbirth regions within the spiral arms of the Pinwheel, which is the most of any other spiral type galaxy that has so far been observed. These starbirth regions are called HII regions.
Did you know?
Starbirth regions are called HII regions due to the large amounts of hydrogen that they contain.
3. The Pinwheel galaxy has a relatively small central bulge.
The central bulge of the Pinwheel is quite small, and it has around 3 billion solar masses. When compared with the starbirth activity going in at the spiral arms, the bulge is mostly silent with very little stars being born.
Did you know?
A lot of galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their centre, astronomers however have not seen one at the centre of the Pinwheel.
4. The Pinwheel galaxy is pretty big.
The Pinwheel has a radius of approximately 85,000 light-years. In comparative terms this means that, at least in terms of size rather than mass, it is larger than our own galaxy the Milky Way.
Did you know?
The Pinwheel may be larger than the Milky Way, but it is still smaller than the Andromeda galaxy… then again, most are.
5. There is another name for the Pinwheel.
Not all galaxies have names, some just have their classification. In the case of Pinwheel, its classification is M101. The M is from the name of the astronomer that classified it, in this case Charles Messier.
Did you know?
Although it is named for Charles Messier, the Pinwheel was actually discovered by French astronomer Pierre François André Méchain.
6. You won’t be able to see the Pinwheel without an aid.
There are a handful of galaxies in our night sky that we can see with the naked eye, the more famous of which is Andromeda, but unfortunately the Pinwheel galaxy is not one of them.
Did you know?
Even though the Pinwheel galaxy cannot be seen with the naked eye, it can be observed using a small and inexpensive telescope.
7. The Pinwheel gives us a splendid view.
Host to one of the nearest supernovae that has been observed in modern astronomy, the Pinwheel presents itself to us here on Earth at a head-on perspective. This gives us an amazing view of the galaxy.
Did you know?
The Pinwheel is wheel considered one of the more beautiful sights in the night sky, thanks in part to the head-on perspective.
8. And a splendid view with lots of detail.
The very near-perfect structure of the Pinwheel galaxy means that when we do observe it, even with small and cheap telescopes, we are able to see the dust lanes present in the spiral arms of the galaxy.
Did you know?
The galaxy is used a lot as an example for people that are interested in astronomy, because of the unique view gives us with modest equipment.
9. You are a time traveller.
When you look at the Pinwheel galaxy, with your own eyes (admittedly though a telescope), you are looking at is the light that left the galaxy 22 million years ago. That means you are seeing the galaxy as it was 22 million years ago..
Did you know?
The Earth is 4.54 million years old. When you look at the Pinwheel galaxy, the image you are looking at is around 4 times older than the planet you were born on.
10. X-ray sources abound in the Pinwheel galaxy.
There are a lot of X-ray sources within the Pinwheel galaxy and these are emanating from stars that have exploded (supernova) and from regions around stellar-mass black holes.
Did you know?
While the Pinwheel galaxy does not have a central supermassive black hole, it does have several other black holes throughout its structure.