M81 (Bode’s), M82 (Cigar), and NGC 3077 (other smudgie) from Bortle 8/9 backyard (Ryan)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa) · Contains: Bode's Galaxy · Cigar Galaxy · HD85161 · HD85458 · HD85828 · HD86574 · M 81 · M 82 · NGC 3031 · NGC 3034 · NGC 3077

M81 (Bode’s), M82 (Cigar), and NGC 3077 (other smudgie) from Bortle 8/9 backyard

In this image, you will find M81 (Bode’s Galaxy), M82 (Cigar Galaxy), and NGC 3077, all in the constellation Ursa Major. Bode’s is about 12 million light years away with a diameter of 90k light years. M82 is a type known as a “starburst” galaxy because of its very high rate of star formation. NGC 3077 shows edges of dust clouds which are likely caused by gravitational interaction with its neighbors.

I can’t help ponder the vastness of the scale when looking at a frame with 3 galaxies. To hold the concept of our own solar system and the vast distance between planets and the space between us and our nearest star while simultaneously looking at 3 giant collections of billions of such stars…. mind blown.

This was my first attempt at broadband galaxy imaging from my Bortle 8/9 backyard. Shot using my William Optics 132 FLT with the Flat8 reducer (0.72) (666mm FL @F5) and my ASI294mm camera.

I got about 30 hours total. Note that I accidentally got 12 hours on R due to not updating my sequence:

L: 350 @ 60s

R: 700 @ 60s*

G: 360 @ 60s

B: 360 @ 60s

Please note: The following tables are updated every 24 hours.

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The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

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Views by Submitters (available since September 19th, 2023) Every image is assigned to 50% of available Submitters. In the event that at least 80% of them don't view the image before its time in the IOTD/TP process expires, it's assigned to the other 50% of Submitters and the process begins anew.
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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	4219419
PixInsight job	5Y5OOBI0TETKK7UNV0LC0R1BN7DX5LQD
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	09h58m34s.90
RA (top/left)	09h53m11s.36
RA (top/right)	09h52m13s.42
RA (bottom/right)	10h03m35s.35
RA (bottom/left)	10h05m22s.76

Dec (center)	+69°11′48″.1
Dec (top/left)	+70°00′40″.4
Dec (top/right)	+68°27′04″.0
Dec (bottom/right)	+68°22′19″.4
Dec (bottom/left)	+69°55′35″.7

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M81 (Bode’s), M82 (Cigar), and NGC 3077 (other smudgie) from Bortle 8/9 backyard

M81 (Bode’s), M82 (Cigar), and NGC 3077 (other smudgie) from Bortle 8/9 backyard

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M81 (Bode’s), M82 (Cigar), and NGC 3077 (other smudgie) from Bortle 8/9 backyard

M81 (Bode’s), M82 (Cigar), and NGC 3077 (other smudgie) from Bortle 8/9 backyard

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