Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  Bode's Galaxy  ·  Cigar Galaxy  ·  M 81  ·  M 82  ·  NGC 3031  ·  NGC 3034
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M81 and M82, Joseph Buchanan
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M81 and M82

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M81 and M82, Joseph Buchanan
Powered byPixInsight

M81 and M82

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Description

Imaging these two galaxies is like being reunited with some longtime friends because they are two of the first objects that I ever looked at through a telescope way back in the 1980s. Over the years I've gone back to them time and time again. M81 is the larger, spiral galaxy on the right. This is what is known as a grand design spiral galaxy and is located about 12 million light light-years away. On the left is M82, which is about the same distance away, and is known for its high rate of new star formation. This image was created from 3 hours' worth of data that I captured using my Orion ED 80T and ZWO 183 MC pro camera with Optolong L-pro filter.

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M81 and M82, Joseph Buchanan