M81, M82, and the Integrated Flux Nebula (#7) (Molly Wakeling)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa) · Contains: Bode's Galaxy · Cigar Galaxy · M 81 · M 82 · NGC 3031 · NGC 3034 · PGC 2726822 · PGC 2727315 · PGC 2728713 · PGC 2728721 · PGC 2730097 · PGC 2730379 · PGC 2730409 · PGC 2730709 · PGC 2730975 · PGC 2731294 · PGC 2731756 · PGC 2732102 · PGC 2732338 · PGC 2732720 · PGC 2732797 · PGC 2732888 · PGC 2733060 · PGC 2733253 · PGC 2733286 · PGC 2733410 · PGC 2733474 · PGC 28225 · PGC 28505 · PGC 28529 · And 5 more.

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M81, M82, and the Integrated Flux Nebula (#7)

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M81, M82, and the Integrated Flux Nebula (#7)

Another image from my dark-sky camping trip earlier this month -- M81 & M82!

This image also features something special I have been hoping to catch for a long time -- the Integrated Flux Nebula, or IFN. The IFN is a nebulous cloud of gas and dust like ordinary nebulae, but instead of being illuminated by a single star or cluster of stars, is actually illuminated by the *integrated flux of all the stars in the galaxy.* This is so COOL!! It can only be seen at high galactic latitudes -- aka, well above or below the plane of the galaxy. It is extremely faint, so I had to leave this image quite a bit noisier than I would have liked to be able to see it, but I'm so excited!!

The other two cool objects in this image are, of course, the more-familiar Messier 81 & 82 galaxies, known respectively as Bode's Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy. M81 is a "grand design" spiral galaxy that lies about 12 million lightyears away behind the constellation Ursa Major up north. It was first recorded by Johann Elert Bode in December 1774, and Charles Messier later added it to his catalog. M82 is a "starburst" galaxy, als about 12 million lightyears away (part of the M81 group). Gravitational interactions with M81 have spurred a massive burst of star formation, which is the source of the red hydrogen jets emitted perpendicularly to the galaxy's disk. M82 is producing stars at 10 times the rate of our own galaxy!

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	4461328
PixInsight job	PVS8X7TNS3A6YUED5W1ZI7L0P9EO2KV2
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	n/a

RA (center)	09h56m09s.76
RA (top/left)	10h04m00s.70
RA (top/right)	10h04m37s.19
RA (bottom/right)	09h47m50s.80
RA (bottom/left)	09h48m08s.50

Dec (center)	+69°24′41″.6
Dec (top/left)	+68°48′20″.9
Dec (top/right)	+69°58′43″.6
Dec (bottom/right)	+69°59′39″.7
Dec (bottom/left)	+68°49′11″.10

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M81, M82, and the Integrated Flux Nebula (#7)

M81, M82, and the Integrated Flux Nebula (#7)

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M81, M82, and the Integrated Flux Nebula (#7)

M81, M82, and the Integrated Flux Nebula (#7)

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