Tag: Messier81

M81 Bode Galaxy M82 Cigar Galaxy

I already captured these magnificent galaxies some time ago (short description here), but with a different camera. Moreover, I upgraded the primary mirror of my Newtonian telescope and the difference is noticeable. My current camera has a slightly bigger sensor, therefore I managed to squeeze an additional galaxy NGC 3077 The Garland Galaxy (upper left corner) into the field of view.

The image was captured during two nights and in total it’s a stack of 100 pictures each 180 s long. Unfortunately, the light pollution in my area doesn’t allow me to capture a better picture.

TelescopeNewton 254/1000 mm
Aperture254 mm
Focal length950 mm
MountGemini G53f
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, TS 60/240 mm
CameraZWO 071 Pro @-10°C
CorrectorMaxField coma corrector
FiltersNo
Exposure100x180s, Gain 95, bin 1x1,
Date2021-04-09

M81 Bode Galaxy M82 Cigar Galaxy

Another galaxy harvest. This time were captured two galaxies in one shot. The spiral one on the right is called Bode Galaxy and on the left Cigar Galaxy. They are located in constellation Ursa Major (Great Bear) and they are proximately 12 million light-years away from us. Even though their centers are quite far from each other (300 thousands light-years), they interact with each other and the smaller one (Cigar) was deformed by tidal forces caused by gravity. Previous picture didn’t reveal such details.


M81 Bode galaxy, M82 Cigar galaxy

This galaxy was discovered by Mr. Bode long time ago in 1774. It’s located 12 million light years from Earth in constellation Ursa Major (Great Bear). This galaxy has a neighbor Cigar galaxy M81 (left).

M81-2014-02-26-Bode-30C-300s-15L5RGB-SQM20_2-Pixi2