galaxy · Ursa Major

M101 — Pinwheel Galaxy

M101 is a face-on spiral galaxy located about 21 million light-years away in Ursa Major. Its graceful spiral arms are studded with bright star-forming regions and extend across a diameter nearly twice that of our Milky Way. The galaxy's asymmetric structure, with arms appearing more developed on one side, likely results from gravitational interactions with smaller companion galaxies.