M 101 is a fine example of a "Grand Design" spiral galaxy. Its spiral
arms can all be traced, roughly, to two main branches coming out from
the core of the galaxy. However, the outer portions of the arms fragment
into segments which nonetheless maintain the basic spiral pattern. These
outer arms contain numerous bright regions of new star formation. The arms
of M 101 are oddly asymmetrical, with one very heavy arm and the core of
the galaxy off-center. M 101 is one of the largest spiral galaxies,
170,000 light years across (nearly twice as large as the Milky Way
galaxy). It lies 25 million light years away in the constellation Ursa
Major.

Image Data:
Camera: SBIG ST-4000XCM, -10 degrees (First light for this camera)
Exposure: 5 minutes x 41
Telescope:10" Schmidt-Newtonian, Baader MPCC