Bode's Galaxy (M81-M82) Challenging Dataset for 2023 (<3 Hrs!) (Jim Raskett)

Bode's Galaxy (M81-M82) Challenging Dataset for 2023 (<3 Hrs!)

Messier 81 (M81), also known as Bode’s Galaxy, is a grand design spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy lies at an approximate distance of 11.8 million light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 6.94. It has the designation NGC 3031 in the New General Catalogue.

Messier 81 occupies an area of 26.9 by 14.1 arc minutes of apparent sky, which corresponds to a linear diameter of about 90,000 light years. It can easily be seen in binoculars, which only show a dim patch of light, and is best viewed in larger telescopes, which reveal details of the galaxy’s spiral structure. 3-inch telescopes show M81 as a hazy, bright oval-shaped patch of light, while 6-inch telescopes reveal the galaxy’s bright core surrounded by a faint halo.
Bode’s Galaxy can be found about 10 degrees northwest of Dubhe, Alpha Ursae Majoris. An imaginary line drawn fromPhecda, Gamma Ursae Majoris to Dubhe and extended by roughly the same distance as that between the stars leads to M81.
The best time of year to observe M81 is during the spring.
Several other members of the M81 Group, including the Cigar Galaxy (M82), are located in the same region of the sky. The Cigar Galaxy can be seen 38 arc minutes north of M81. The two galaxies can easily be seen in binoculars and small telescopes, but are not visible to the naked eye. M82 is smaller and fainter than M81, but is a wonderful example of a starburst galaxy and the two make a popular pair among astronomers. 8-inch and larger telescopes are required to make out the spiral structure in M81. The galaxy can be seen from northern latitudes, but is invisible to southern observers, except for those living near the equator.
With prominent, clearly defined spiral arms, Bode’s Galaxy is an excellent example of a grand design spiral. The galaxy’s size and proximity – it is one of the nearest galaxies beyond the Local Group – often make it a target of study by professional astronomers, while amateur astronomers and astrophotographers like to observe the galaxy because it is large and has a relatively high brightness.
Bode’s Galaxy is home to over 250 billion stars. It is the most remote blueshifted (moving toward us) large galaxy known.
The active galactic nucleus of M81 contains a supermassive black hole with a mass of 70 million solar masses, or 15 times the mass of the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.

A very troublesome dataset from March 16th of this year.

I switched to my 102mm scope (from my 61) and the transition did not go smoothly!!!
Almost 5 hours of data (not near enough) ended up being 2:57 total integration after removing the bad light frames.
New attack plan for correcting my acquisition issues, but I have yet to get a chance to get back on the horse because of poor skies!
So, at 2:57 total integration in my Bortle 6-7 skies, I went ahead and processed the data (several times).
Too much saturation and too much noise reduction. No luck on any ifn and barely any starburst on M82, but there is always next year!

Thanks for looking and comments welcome!

Jim

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	7511105
PixInsight job	GNJZAD9N80QERB9PZHACMHI5PLB4K4HD
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	09h56m09s.46
RA (top/left)	10h04m07s.31
RA (top/right)	09h56m54s.21
RA (bottom/right)	09h48m08s.70
RA (bottom/left)	09h55m27s.72

Dec (center)	+69°17′17″.3
Dec (top/left)	+69°12′42″.1
Dec (top/right)	+69°59′41″.8
Dec (bottom/right)	+69°20′30″.2
Dec (bottom/left)	+68°34′53″.7

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