M51-the "Whirlpool Galaxy" - sits at the bottom of the handle in the Big Dipper. Rumor has it that it exemplifies an image of our our own Milky Way galaxy, although we can't get quite the same vantage point of ourselves, haha! Blues and reds are abundant in the little "knotty" clusters of starts along the edges of the spiral arms, which are actually density clusterings of mass which creates the illusion of a spiral or pinwheel. Gorgeous sign glory!

Canon 6D on 13"reflector and eq6-r mount

3.5 hours total integration time, 110-second exposures at 1600 ISO each (approx 170 photos). Photoshop for processing