March 04, 2022
M81 and M82
This image contains M81 and M82 which are repeat objects for me and the first deep space objects I imaged with my new 5 inch refractor. Messier 81 (aka Bode’s Galaxy) and Messier 82 (Cigar Galaxy) are two galaxies of the M81 Group, both about 12 million lightyears from Earth. The center of Bode’s Galaxy contains a 70 million solar mass super massive black hole. In February 2022, astronomers reported that Bode’s Galaxy may be the source of fast repeating radio bursts observed in May 2021. The Cigar Galaxy is a starburst galaxy more luminous than our Milky Way Galaxy with the center being 100 times more luminous than the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The starburst is thought to be caused by gravitational interactions with Bode’s Galaxy.