Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  Bode's Galaxy  ·  Cigar Galaxy  ·  HD85458  ·  HD85828  ·  HD86574  ·  M 81  ·  M 82  ·  NGC 3031  ·  NGC 3034  ·  NGC 3077
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M81 Group, Jeff Ridder
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M81 Group

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M81 Group, Jeff Ridder
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M81 Group

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Description

M81 (AKA Bode's Galaxy), M82 (Cigar Galaxy to the right), and NGC 3077 (Garland Galaxy in the upper left) are about 12-million light-years away and are all strongly interacting with each other. The gravitational interactions have stripped some hydrogen gas away from all three galaxies, leading to the formation of filamentary gas structures within the group. Bridges of neutral hydrogen have been shown to connect M81 with M82 and NGC 3077. Moreover, the interactions have also caused some interstellar gas to fall into the centers of Messier 82 and NGC 3077, which has led to strong starburst activity (or the formation of many stars) within the centers of these two galaxies.

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  • M81 Group, Jeff Ridder
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    M81 Group, Jeff Ridder
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M81 Group, Jeff Ridder