Don’t freak out, but someone may have pulled the plug in the proverbial bathwater of space - at least, that's the impression you get from the Whirlpool Galaxy.

Nestled 23.5 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, this cosmic whirlpool, also known as Messier 51a, was the first to be recognised as a spiral galaxy. If you’re looking for it, space boffins recommend finding the easternmost star of the Big Dipper, Alkaid, and going 3.5° southwest.

The Whirlpool Galaxy is a hotbed for supernova discoveries, with several having been observed over the past few decades. What’s more, in 2020, the Chandra X-ray Observatory announced the discovery of M51-ULS-1b in the Whirlpool Galaxy, which could potentially be the first-ever planet found outside the Milky Way.