| Designation |
Messier 81 (NGC 3031) Bode's Galaxy
& M82 (NGC 3034) The Cigar galaxy (also NGC3077 & PGC 28757,
28731 & 28225)
|
| Type | Spiral Type SA(s)ab I-II & Irregular Type IO |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Coordinates |
Telescope centered
at RA '09 54 48' Dec '+69 27 03'
|
| Magnitude | 6.9 & 8.4 respectively |
| Size | 70,000 & 35,000 light years respectively |
| Distance | 10 million light years from Earth |
| Dimensions | 24 x 13 & 12 x 5.6 arcminutes |
| Image Field | 90.6 x 131.3 arcminutes |
|
Notes:
|
These are the two brightest galaxies of a small group that next to the Local Group are our closest neighbors. M81 & 82 have respective luminosities of -20.8 & -19.3, which is equal to 17 and 4.4 billion suns. |
| M82 is a "starburst galaxy". It is interacting with it's neighbor, probably through gravetational effects on the gas cloud they share. This interaction causes a mass disruption of the molecular clouds, which in turn triggers shock waves resulting in an abundance of star formation. This manifests in the red expulsions of dust, hydrogen and nitrogen seen outgassing from the center, which is believed to be the result of many violent supernova events. | |
|
|
| Telescope | Takahashi FS60C f/5.9 on Losmandy G-11 with Gemini L3 |
| Focal Length | 264 mm @ f/4.4 with Takahashi focal reducer |
| Guiding | Starlight Xpress SXV guidehead through 10" SCT @ f/3.3 |
| Telescope Control | Maxim DL (V4.07) |
| CCD Camera |
Starlight Xpress SXV-H9 - USB 2 ExView progressive
scan
1392 x 1040 (6.45 uM) pixel array (8.98 x 6.71 active area)
|
| Image Scale | 5.23 arcsec/pixel |
| Filters |
1.25" Astronomik Type II Dichroic
IR blocking filters in Astronomik filter drawer - Clear, Red, Green,
Blue, Ha (in Hires composite of M82)
|
| Exposures | Total exposure time: 185 minutes (plus 215 minutes for M82 composite) -Luminance 75 (15x5) minutes R&G 35 (7 x5), B (45 (9 x 5) |
| Calibration | None |
| Processing Software | Maxim DL, Photoshop CS (8.0), NEAT Image |
| Location | Chiefland Astronomy Village, FL - 29.393 N , - 82.863 W |
| Date/Time | 02/05/05 '07:24' - '10:45' UT' |
