The following image depicts the Cigar Galaxy (Messier 82 (M82), also NGC3034 (new general catalogue)), which is an edge on spiral galaxy, also called a starburst galaxy. The Cigar Galaxy is located in the Ursa Major constellation, located approximately 12 million light years away. This galaxy is a very close neighbor to the Bode’s Galaxy (M81), and the “starburst” is thought to be caused by the close interaction with M81. The galaxy has a diameter of approximately 37,000 light years. Galaxies are called Starburst galaxies if they are undergoing an exceptionally high rate of star formation – Per NASA, the Cigar galaxy is forming stars 10 times faster than our own Milky Way Galaxy. The fiery red plumes are hydrogen gas blasting from the center of the galaxy. Additionally, the galaxy crackles with radio activity.

If you want to learn more about Starburst Galaxies – Reference this detailed writeup on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starburst_galaxy

These pictures were shot with the IDAZ Dual Narrowband filter which is great for heavy light pollution areas (like mine), moonlight, and allows light transmission in two main frequency regions:
1. Hydrogen Alpha (Ha) (red) at 656.3 nm with a bandwidth of 15nm
2. Oxygen III (Oiii) (blue) at 500.7 nm with a bandwidth of 35nm
This image was processed in the one shot color format (OSC) – The red plumes are loaded with hydrogen alpha.

These images that make up this picture were collected on January 8, 9, & 10, 2024, as the moon was in a new moon phase with an average of 6% light.
My setup:
• Mount: EQ6R-Pro
• Telescope: Celestron Edge HD 8” with Celestron 0.7 Reducer – Focal Length is 1422mm with F7 aperture
• Guiding: Celestron OAG (Off-Axis Guider) and ZWO 290MM camera
• ZWO ASI2600MC Pro; Camera cooled to -10 deg C, with IDAZ Duo-Band Narrowband Light Pollution Reduction Filter
• Bortle-9 – South Los Angeles shot from my backyard
• Integration Time: 14 Hours 50 Minutes; Lights (169 @ 300 seconds); Darks (20 @ 300 seconds); Flats (30) & Dark Flats (30)
• Image Processing: Pixinsight – Using videos from multiple youtube teachers and website. @Cosgrove’sCosmos (Thank you for your recent feedback in my image processing), @ViewintoSpace, @EnteringintoSpace, @Lukomatico – Lots of great on-line teachers/examples.
• Incorporated Russell Croman’s amazing products (Blur, Noise, and Star Xterminators) with the updated AI in BlurX