M81 and M82 - HaLRGB

Description:

Messier 81 (Bode’s Galaxy) and Messier 82 (the Cigar Galaxy) are two prominent galaxies in Ursa Major, located around 11.8 million light-years away. M81 is a grand-design spiral galaxy with a supermassive black hole of approximately 70 million solar masses, while M82 is a starburst galaxy undergoing intense star formation due to past interactions with M81. These interactions, occurring around 600 million years ago, triggered supernova-driven winds in M82, shaping its chaotic structure with filaments of red hydrogen-alpha emission stretching into intergalactic space.

 

Both galaxies are part of the M81 Group, a cluster of about 34 galaxies with visible tidal streams of gas and stars connecting them. Surrounding this region is the Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN), a vast, faint structure of interstellar dust and gas illuminated by the combined light of the Milky Way. The IFN appears as wispy filaments in the image, they required long exposures and careful processing to reveal.

 

Both galaxies were imaged using two 140mm refractors in unison over the span of multiple nights.

 

Equipment:

Imaging 2x Telescopes: Askar 140APO

Imaging Cameras: ToupTek ATR2600C + ZWO ASI2600MM Pro

Mounts: ZWO AM5N + MlAstro Sal-33

 

Filters:

- Antlia Luminance 36 mm

- Chroma H-alpha 3nm Bandpass 36 mm

 

Accessories

- Askar 0.8x Full Frame Reducer / Flattener for 140APO Telescope

- Celestron 0.7X Reducer EdgeHD925

 

Dates:

Jan. 31, 2025

Feb. 16 - 17, 2026

 

Frames:

RGB: 100×300″(8h 20′)

Luminance: 238×300″(19h 50′)

Hydrogen alpha 3nm Bandpass 134×300″(11h 10′)

 

Total Integration:

39h 20′

 

Locations: Al Salmy Desert, Al Jahra Governorate, Kuwait

Done