Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  Bode's Galaxy  ·  Cigar Galaxy  ·  M 81  ·  M 82  ·  NGC 3031  ·  NGC 3034
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Bodes and Cigar galaxies M81 & M82, Phil Swift
Bodes and Cigar galaxies M81 & M82
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Bodes and Cigar galaxies M81 & M82

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Bodes and Cigar galaxies M81 & M82, Phil Swift
Bodes and Cigar galaxies M81 & M82
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Bodes and Cigar galaxies M81 & M82

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Description

M81 is a spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years from Earth, with a diameter of 90,000 light years.

It is about half the size of the Milky Way, in the constellation Ursa Major.

M81 harbors a 70 million M☉ (times more massive than The Sun) supermassive black hole at its core.

M82 is a starburst galaxy, also, approximately 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.

A member of the M81 Group, it is about five times more luminous than the whole Milky Way and has a center one hundred times more luminous than our galaxy's center.

The starburst activity is thought to have been triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81.

As the closest starburst galaxy to Earth, M82 is the prototypical example of this galaxy type.

M81 and M82 were first discovered by Johann Elert Bode on 31 December 1774.

M81 and M82 can both be viewed easily using binoculars and small telescopes.

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Bodes and Cigar galaxies M81 & M82, Phil Swift