Hubble Space Telescope ACS Mosaic Images of M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy ("M51")

In January 2005, the Hubble Heritage Team obtained a large four-color mosaic image of the Whirlpool Galaxy NGC 5194 (M51), and its companion NGC 5195, with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The resulting color composite image was released to the community on April 25, 2005 to celebrate Hubble's 15th anniversary. Since the M51 mosaics produced by the Hubble Heritage Team represent a significant investment of expert processing beyond the standard archival products, these drizzle-combined FITS have been released simultaneously as a High Level Science Product via MAST.