Date: 2/19/2010
Target: M81, Bode's Galaxy and M82, Cigar Galaxy
Telescope: Orion 8" f/4.9 w/Multi-Purpose Coma Corrector
Camera: Canon 40D (modified)
Filter: None
Exposures: 50x240s (3.3h) @ ISO1600
Framing: North is left
Start Temp: 28F
End Temp: 21F
Location: Mocksville, NC
Seeing: 3/5
Transparency: 4/5
Guiding (RMS/Osc): 0.19/0.43
Start Time: 10:00PM
End Time: 3:00AM
Captured using Nebulosity, stacked using DeepSkyStacker, processed in Photoshop.
This is a crop from the M81/M82 Widefield.
Messier 81 (also known as
NGC 3031 or
Bode's Galaxy) is a
spiral galaxy about
12 million light-years away in the
constellation Ursa Major. M81 is one of the most striking examples of a
grand design spiral galaxy, with near perfect arms spiraling into the very center. Because of its proximity to
Earth, its large size, and its
active galactic nucleus (which harbors a
supermassive black hole) Messier 81 is a popular galaxy to study in professional
astronomy research. The galaxy's large size and relatively low apparent magnitude (lower magnitude implies higher brightness) also make it a popular target for
amateur astronomy observations.