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

Bode and Cigar Galaxies (M81, M82), Menlo Astronomy
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Bode and Cigar Galaxies (M81, M82)

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Bode and Cigar Galaxies taken by Caroline Baccus.

These galaxies are two of the brightest galaxies in the night sky and are located 11.5 million light-years away from earth. Bode’s Galaxy (M81), named after Johann Elert Bode, who discovered it in 1774, is home to a supermassive black hole estimated to be around 70 million times the mass of our sun in its center, while clearly seen in its spiral arms are the purplish-blue bursts of star formation.
The Cigar Galaxy (M82), known for its long, elongate shape, is actually a spiral galaxy viewed edge-on. It has high levels of star formation and because of this is also known as a starburst galaxy. The two galaxies are gravitationally interacting, and the red haze around the Cigar galaxy is due to tides from Bode’s galaxy pulling dust and stars from it. 

- Learn more about the cigar galaxy here and Bode's galaxies here
- Learn more about how to photograph Bodes and Cigar galaxies here

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Bode and Cigar Galaxies (M81, M82), Menlo Astronomy

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