The Dust Skeleton of M51

With most of the starlight removed from this Hubble image, the sharpest view ever of the narrow spiraling dust lanes of the Whirlpool Galaxy is revealed.

Near-infrared image of the Whirlpool Galaxy

Hubble image of the Whirlpool Galaxy in visible light.

Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Regan and B. Whitmore (STScI), R. Chandar (University of Toledo), S. Beckwith (STScI), and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)