Here is my Whirlpool Galaxy. 
This image is particularly special for me because it represents the culmination of a particular effort in my life. 
I founded the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter for the University of Arizona and created a new destination for astronomy programs in the US. 
One facet of the programs included astrophotography (obviously). An image like this is the cumulation of years of dialing in a telescope in order to produce optimal imagery. 

I processed this data using all of the latest and greatest tools available (DBE. Local Normalization,  SPCC, xXT, etc).

I would recommend scrolling around to see the background Universe as well as diving into the Whirlpool.... just make certain you don't go into to far...

Acquisition Exposures  LRGB 6 : 2 : 2 : 2 Hours

-adam