M81 (Bode galaxy) and Cigar galaxy -- first light on Askar FRA400 (stalv0812)

M81 (Bode galaxy) and Cigar galaxy -- first light on Askar FRA400

M81, also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by Johann Elert Bode on December 31, 1774, and Charles Messier subsequently added it to his catalog of celestial objects in 1781. M81 is one of the brightest and most easily observed galaxies in the night sky, making it a popular target for both amateur and professional astronomers.M81 is located approximately 11.7 million light-years away from Earth and is part of the M81 Group, a group of galaxies that includes about 34 members. The group's most prominent members are M81 itself, M82 (the Cigar Galaxy), and NGC 3077.The galaxy has a diameter of roughly 90,000 light-years, making it somewhat smaller than our own Milky Way, which has a diameter of about 100,000 light-years. The central region of M81 contains a supermassive black hole with a mass of around 70 million times that of our Sun. This black hole is believed to be actively accreting material, which causes the surrounding area to emit radiation.M81 has a well-defined spiral structure with distinct spiral arms. The galaxy's arms contain a mix of older, redder stars and younger, bluer stars, as well as regions of active star formation, known as H II regions. These regions are characterized by the presence of ionized hydrogen gas and often appear as pink or red areas in color images of the galaxy. M81's relatively close proximity to Earth and its face-on orientation make it an ideal target for studying the structure and properties of spiral galaxies.

First light captured with my new Askar FRA400 telescope: 150x60s exposures using an IR cut filter under light-polluted Bortle 6-7 skies of Amsterdam outskirts. Despite strong wind gusts, I was able to achieve satisfactory image quality for this astrophotography session.

	Distinct awarded users	Total awarded images
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	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Deep sky
Solar system
Extremely wide field
Star trails
Northern lights
Noctilucent clouds
Landscape

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Backyard
Traveller
Own remote observatory
Amateur hosting facility
Public amaeteur data
Professional, scientific grade data
Mix of multiple sources
Other
Unknown

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	7388169
PixInsight job	EGYKKEQHJ6XWD5ZPUD0LNSSISLTZAUGX
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	09h55m38s.20
RA (top/left)	09h45m51s.46
RA (top/right)	10h02m57s.51
RA (bottom/right)	10h06m02s.70
RA (bottom/left)	09h47m41s.45

Dec (center)	+69°05′27″.7
Dec (top/left)	+68°23′47″.6
Dec (top/right)	+68°11′03″.7
Dec (bottom/right)	+69°44′52″.9
Dec (bottom/left)	+69°58′36″.4

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