Postcards from Space

Postcard from Space

Postcard courtesy of Telescopes in Education.

Whirlpool Galaxy. This charge-coupled device (CCD) image of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M-51) - with a supernova at its core - and a smaller companion galaxy (NGC-5195) was taken by elementary students using the automated 24-inch Newtonian (reflecting) telescope on Mount Wilson, California. Through Telescopes in Education (TIE), students remotely control a telescope and CCD camera in a real-time, hands on learning environment.