Astr110 Photography Projects, Spring 2005

M-81, Jerry Hermanto

M-81 is one of the easiest galaxies to observe by an amateur observer. It is found in the northern constellation Ursa Major, which is nearest to our Local Group. M-81 is about 12,000, 000 ly away from Earth. It is one of the brightest and most visible galaxies. Hinting at a disorderly past, a remarkable dust lane runs straight through the disk, below and right of the galactic center. The errant dust lanes may be due to a close encounter between M-81 and its neighboring galaxy, M-82. M-81 also interacts weakly with a more distant neighbor, NGC 3077, showing that galaxy collisions happen in our own backyard. the distance of M-81 from one end to another is 38,000 light years.

References:

Messier Object 81

M81 series of images

Astronomy Image of the Day