Record dimensions
- Morphology
- spiral
- Viewing geometry
- face-on
- Environment
- group context not modeled in this release
- Scale cue
- large spiral
- Activity note
- star-forming regions visible
Field Atlas example · spiral
M101 · Pinwheel Galaxy
A classic face-on spiral that makes arm structure easy to inspect while reminding us that a favorable viewing angle can strongly shape classification confidence.
Representation boundary
Visible-light imagery highlights stars, dust lanes and star-forming regions; other wavelengths emphasize different material.
This record avoids inferring hidden physical properties solely from the visual class.
Source-backed facts
What this release is willing to state.
These are intentionally compact. The linked institutional source remains the authority for fuller context.
- sourced NASA lists M101 at about 25 million light-years away.
- sourced NASA describes it as a classic face-on spiral galaxy.
- sourced NASA’s Hubble catalog describes a disk about 170,000 light-years across.
GX-SRC-006
Messier 101 (The Pinwheel Galaxy)NASA Science / Hubble
checked 2026-09-15