M81 - Bode's Galaxy and M82 - Cigar Galaxy (JetpackJason)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa) · Contains: Bode's Galaxy · Cigar Galaxy · M 81 · M 82 · NGC 2976 · NGC 3031 · NGC 3034 · NGC 3077

M81 - Bode's Galaxy and M82 - Cigar Galaxy, JetpackJason

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M81 - Bode's Galaxy and M82 - Cigar Galaxy

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M81 - Bode's Galaxy and M82 - Cigar Galaxy

Here are two galaxies I've been waiting nearly a year to photograph! M81 & M82: Bode's and Cigar Galaxies.

The one on the left is the Cigar Galaxy, and is a "starburst" galaxy. I wish I could get more of the red "jets" coming from the middle of it, but I can't complain. The Cigar galaxy is approximately 12 million light years from us.

The grand-spiral galaxy on the right is Bode's Galaxy. It too is nearly 12 million light years from us, and is roughly the same size as our own Milky Way (what's a few thousand light years between galaxies, eh?) The yellowish core is full of older stars, and the bluish spiral arms are full of newer O-Type stars, giving the blue hues.

This image is one of my favorites that I've taken! It came from a night where everything worked perfectly: No wind, crystal clear, and guiding was beautiful. With my mount, that's never happened. I chose to use the Z73 because it's so much lighter than my 8" SCT. I was afraid the weight of the heavier scope would give me problems.

In choosing the Z73, I ended up shooting a lot of space with tiny galaxies. I'm not upset, though. The detail in them came through great, and I love the sense of the vastness of space! Plus, I wound up with 7, yes 7, galaxies!

Also, please feel free to correct me with any info, or add any info in the comments! Plus, I am open to critiques, and suggestions. I'm in this to learn about space and photographing it! Thanks!

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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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Status	Basic success
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Astrometry.net job	4177336
PixInsight job	n/a
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M81 - Bode's Galaxy and M82 - Cigar Galaxy

M81 - Bode's Galaxy and M82 - Cigar Galaxy

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M81 - Bode's Galaxy and M82 - Cigar Galaxy

M81 - Bode's Galaxy and M82 - Cigar Galaxy

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