Using infrared imaging from the Herschel Space Observatory , observed as part of the Very Nearby Galaxies Survey , we investigate the spatially resolved dust properties of the interacting Whirlpool galaxy system ( NGC 5194 and NGC 5195 ) , on physical scales of \sim 1 kpc . Spectral energy distribution modelling of the new infrared images in combination with archival optical , near- through mid-infrared images confirms that both galaxies underwent a burst of star formation \sim 370–480Â Myr ago and provides spatially resolved maps of the stellar and dust mass surface densities . The resulting average dust-to-stellar mass ratios are comparable to other spiral and spheroidal galaxies studied with Herschel , with NGC 5194 at \log ( M _ { \mathrm { dust } } / M _ { \star } ) = -2.5 \pm 0.2 and NGC 5195 at \log ( M _ { \mathrm { dust } } / M _ { \star } ) = -3.5 \pm 0.3 . The dust-to-stellar mass ratio is constant across NGC 5194 suggesting the stellar and dust components are coupled . In contrast , the mass ratio increases with radius in NGC 5195 with decreasing stellar mass density . Archival mass surface density maps of the neutral and molecular hydrogen gas are also folded into our analysis . The gas-to-dust mass ratio , 94 \pm 17 , is relatively constant across NGC 5194 , although there is some suggestion that it decreases radially but not significantly above our uncertainties . Somewhat surprisingly , we find the dust in NGC 5195 is heated by a strong interstellar radiation field , over 20 times that of the ISRF in the Milky Way , resulting in relatively high characteristic dust temperatures ( \sim 30 K ) . This post-starburst galaxy contains a substantial amount of low-density molecular gas and displays a gas-to-dust ratio ( 73 \pm 35 ) similar to spiral galaxies . It is unclear why the dust in NGC 5195 is heated to such high temperatures as there is no star formation in the galaxy and its active galactic nucleus is 5-10 times less luminous than the one in NGC 5194 , which exhibits only a modest enhancement in the amplitude of its ISRF .