Galactic Neighbours, M81 and M82

This image captures two iconic galaxies in the constellation Ursa Major, located approximately 12 million light-years from Earth:

•Messier 81 (Bode’s Galaxy): A spiral galaxy with well-defined arms and a bright nucleus. It's home to a supermassive black hole and is one of the most studied galaxies due to its proximity and clarity.

•Messier 82 (Cigar Galaxy): A starburst galaxy seen edge-on, known for its intense star formation and dramatic outflows of gas. Its core is over 100 times brighter than that of the Milky Way.

Despite their visual contrast—one serene and spiral, the other chaotic and bursting—these galaxies are gravitationally bound and have interacted in the past, triggering the starburst activity in M82.

 

️ Date Processed: August 2, 2025

️ Date Aquired: March2, 2025

📍 Location: Havant, UK

🔭 Target Object: M81 Bode’s and M82 galaxies

🎯 RA/DEC: 09h 55m 52.081s +69° 17' 35.237"

️ Field of View: 49.2; x 58.7’

📐 Image Scale: 1.01”/px

⏱️ Total Integration Time: 6h 40m

📷 Camera: ZWO ASI533MM Pro

🔧 Telescope/Optics: Skywatcher Evostar 120mm, Skywatcher 0.85x reducer flattener, f6.375, 768mm

🌀 Mount: iOptron CEM40g

Guiding: iOptron iGuider f4 integrated to the mount

Filters Used: ZWO Lum, ZWO Red, ZWO Blue, ZWO Green

- Subframes:

- Lum: 50 x 120s

- R: 50 x 120s

- G: 50 x 120s

- B: 50 x 120s

- Calibration frames:

- BIAS: 50

- Flats: 25

- Darks: 25

- Dark flats: 25

📚 Software & Processing Summary:

- Stacking: Pixinsight

- Processing: Pixinsight

- Final Editing: Photoshop

Done