Description

M81 was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774 and is sometimes referred to as "Bode's Galaxy". Pierre Méchain and Charles Messier independently re-discoverd Bode's object in 1779. M81 (NGC 3031) is a spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away in Ursa Major. Due to its large size and active galactic nucleus, which contains a 70 million solar mass, supermassive black hole, M81 has been studied extensively.

After a long spell of bad winter weather and windy days, we finally got a moonless night with a prediction for clear and windless. Not sure how long the weather might hold, I pulled the scope out early and started my run right after dark. I didn't have much time so I had to go after something bright and M81 fit the bill. It was just about as high as it gets and the weather held for nearly 4 hours before a high thin overcast rolled in to shut me down just a little after midnight. It was pretty clear but the seeing was very mediocre so this image isn't as sharp as it could be. With such a limited time frame I couldn't go very deep, but the result is certainly worth posting. It's been crummy weather every since so the effort was certainly worth it. When the weather turns normal again and we get more clear skies, I'll have to add some data to this image. There is a lot going on in M81 and it would be interesting to try to pick up some surrounding IFN.

C&C always welcome...

John