Secrets of the Whirlpool Galaxy

The Sky at Night • Season 60 • Episode 5

About this episode

Chris Lintott and Maggie Aderin-Pocock report on a plan to train as many telescopes as possible on the Whirlpool Galaxy. This star formation is 30 million light years from Earth and was discovered in 1773, its spiral shape believed to have been the inspiration for Van Gogh's painting Starry Starry Night. Optical and infra-red telescopes, radio observatories and ultraviolet and x-ray sensors will study the galaxy to learn more about a wave of intense star formation.