This giant spiral disk of stars, dust and gas is 170,000 light-years across, almost twice the diameter of our Milky Way galaxy. M101 is estimated to contain at least one trillion stars.

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Credit for Hubble Image: NASA, ESA, K. Kuntz (JHU), F. Bresolin (University of Hawaii), J. Trauger (Jet Propulsion Lab), J. Mould (NOAO), Y.-H. Chu (University of Illinois, Urbana), and STScI;

Credit for CFHT Image: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/ J.-C. Cuillandre/Coelum;

Credit for NOAO Image: G. Jacoby, B. Bohannan, M. Hanna/ NOAO/AURA/NSF