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Messier 51, or "The Whirlpool Galaxy" as it is often called, lies at a distance of approximately 222,000,000,000,000,000 miles or more simply, 37 million light-years.   In the sky (invisable to the naked eye) it can be found relatively close to the star which marks the very end of "The Big Dipper's" handle.  This galaxy is far, far, far, beyond "all of the individual foreground stars" which are part of our own galaxy in this photo.   One can remember a single light-year is equal to around 6 trillion miles.  And a light-year is also the distance light travels in a year at its "always constant speed" of approximately 186,000 miles each second.   Thus the galaxy above appears to us as it actually existed roughly 37 million years ago, and we are actually "looking back in time" when ever we view it.

Photographic Data: Meade 10 inch Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope at f / 10 on Losmandy G11 mount. Exposure: A composite of two exposures at 2 and 1 hours. Film: Hypered Kodak PJ400. Date: May 26, 2000.

The Whirlpool Galaxy - M51