M51 Group
Galaxy cluster in constellation Canes Venatici
title: "M51 Group" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["m51-group", "canes-venatici"] description: "Galaxy cluster in constellation Canes Venatici" topic_path: "general/m51-group" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M51_Group" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Galaxy cluster in constellation Canes Venatici ::
| name = M51 Group | image = [[File:Messier51 sRGB.jpg|300px]] |caption = The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51A), the brightest member of the M51 Group, and M51B, the companion to the Whirlpool Galaxy. | epoch=J2000 | ra = {{cite journal | author=A. Garcia | title=General study of group membership. II – Determination of nearby groups | journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement | date=1993 | volume=100 | pages=47–90 | bibcode=1993A&AS..100...47G}}{{cite journal |author1=G. Giuricin |author2=C. Marinoni |author3=L. Ceriani |author4=A. Pisani | title=Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of Groups | journal=Astrophysical Journal | date=2000 | volume=543 | issue=1 | pages=178–194 | bibcode=2000ApJ...543..178G | doi=10.1086/317070|arxiv = astro-ph/0001140 |s2cid=9618325 }} | dec = | constellation = Canes Venatici | member_no = 7–17 | brightest_member = Whirlpool Galaxy (M51A) | other_names = NGC 5194 Group, LGG 347, NOGG H 712, NOGG P1 723, NOGG P2 739
The M51 Group is a group of galaxies located in Canes Venatici. The group is named after the brightest galaxy in the group, the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51A). Other notable members include the companion galaxy to the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51B) and the Sunflower Galaxy (M63).{{cite book | author=R. B. Tully | date=1988 | title=Nearby Galaxies Catalog | edition= | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=Cambridge | isbn=0-521-35299-1}}{{cite journal | author=P. Fouque, E. Gourgoulhon, P. Chamaraux, G. Paturel | title=Groups of galaxies within 80 Mpc. II –The catalogue of groups and group members | journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement | date=1992 | volume=93 | pages=211–233 | bibcode=1992A&AS...93..211F | last2=Gourgoulhon | last3=Chamaraux | last4=Paturel}}
Members
The table below lists galaxies that have been consistently identified as group members in the Nearby Galaxies Catalog, the survey of Fouque et al., the Lyons Groups of Galaxies (LGG) Catalog, and the three group lists created from the Nearby Optical Galaxy sample of Giuricin et al.
::data[format=table title="'''Members of the M51 Group'''"]
| Name | Type{{cite web | R.A. (J2000) | Dec. (J2000) | Redshift (km/s) | Apparent Magnitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| title=NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database | work=Results for various galaxies | url=http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/ | accessdate=2006-10-19}} | ||
| Whirlpool Galaxy (M51A) | SA(s)bc pec | 463 ± 3 | 9.0 | ||
| M51B (NGC 5195) | SB0 pec | 465 ± 10 | 10.5 | ||
| NGC 5023 | Scd | 407 ± 1 | 12.9 | ||
| NGC 5229 | SB(s)d | 364 ± 8 | 14.3 | ||
| Sunflower Galaxy (M63) | SA(rs)bc | 504 ± 4 | 9.3 | ||
| UGC 8313 | SB(s)c | 593 ± 4 | 14.4 | ||
| UGC 8331 | IAm | 260 ± 5 | 14.6 | ||
| :: |
Other probable members (galaxies listed in two or more of the lists from the above references) include IC 4263 and UGC 8320. The exact membership is somewhat uncertain.
Nearby Groups
The M51 Group is located to the southeast of the M101 Group and the NGC 5866 Group.{{cite journal | author=L. Ferrarese, H. C. Ford, J. Huchra, R. C. Kennicutt Jr., J. R. Mould, S. Sakai, W. L. Freedman, P. B. Stetson, B. F. Madore, B. K. Gibson, J. A. Graham, S. M. Hughes, G. D. Illingworth, D. D. Kelson, L. Macri, K. Sebo, N. A. Silbermann | title=A Database of Cepheid Distance Moduli and Tip of the Red Giant Branch, Globular Cluster Luminosity Function, Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function, and Surface Brightness Fluctuation Data Useful for Distance Determinations | journal=Astrophysical Journal Supplement | date=2000 | volume=128 | issue=2 | pages=431–459 | bibcode=2000ApJS..128..431F | doi=10.1086/313391|arxiv = astro-ph/9910501 | last4=Kennicutt | s2cid=121612286
References
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::