Bode’s and Cigar Galaxies
Bode’s Galaxy (M81) and the Cigar Galaxy (M82) are a pair of galaxies located in the constellation, Ursa Major. Bode’s is a spiral galaxy while the Cigar Galaxy is an irregular galaxy , both approximately 11.8 milion light-years away from earth.
Bode’s Galaxy has a diameter of 90,000 light-years, which is half the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy, and both galaxies are rich in hydrogen-alpha gases.
These two galaxies have a gravitational lock on each other which affects their shape and composition on each other. One of the interesting parts of this image is the Integrated Flux Nebulal (IFN) that is an extremely faint and difficult to photograph nebula.
| Object | M81-M82 |
| Link | https://www.shetzers.com/bodes-and-cigar-galaxies-m81-m82/ |
| Wiki Link | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M81_Group |
| Hemisphere | Northern |
| Constellation | Ursa Major and Camelopardalis |
| Other Names contained in image | Messier 81, M81, Messier 82, M82 |
| Imaging telescopes or lenses | Takahashi FSQ -106ED4 |
| Imaging cameras | QHY268M |
| Mounts | Software Bisque Paramount MYT |
| Focal reducers | None |
| Software | Software Bisque The Sky X, PHD Lab PHD2, Voyager, Viking, PixInsight, Photoshop, Lightroom |
| Filters | Astrodon LRGB Gen2 E-Series Tru-Balance 36mm unmounted. Chroma Technology Narrowband 3nm Ha, SII, OIII – 36mm Unmounted |
| Accessories | Moonlite NightCrawler 35 focuser, Maxdome II, Digital Loggers Pro Switch, Sky Alert Weather Station, Pegagsus Ultimate Powerbox v2, Starlight Xpress filter wheel. |
| Guiding Telescope or Lenses | Orion 60mm Guide Scope |
| Guiding Camera | ZWO ASI224MC Guide Camera |
| Imaging Dates | 3/23/22, 3/23/22, 3/24/22, 3/25/22,3/26/22, 4/6/22 |
| Frames | Luminance: 53×300″ (4.4h) Gain 25, Photographic Mode, Temp -25C, Bin 1×1 Red: 28×300″ (2.3h) Gain 25, Photographic Mode, Temp -25C, Bin 1×1 Green: 28×300″ (2.3h) Gain 25, Photographic Mode, Temp -25C, Bin 1×1 Blue: 28×300″ (2.3h) Gain 25, Photographic Mode, Temp -25C, Bin 1×1 Ha: 12×1200″ (4h) Gain 60, High Gain Mode, Temp -25C, Bin 1×1 |
| Integration | 15h 4′ |
| Darks | 50 |
| Flats | 20 per Filter |
| Flat Darks | 40 |
| Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: | 2 |
| RA center | 09 56 06.856 |
| DEC center | 69 24 20.53 |
| Pixel scale | 3.76 |
| Resolution | 6280 x 4210 |
| Locations | Sirus 3.5m Observatory, Carbondale Colorado |
| Data source | Backyard |
| Seeing | Average |
| Bortles | 2 |
| Post Processing Techniques | PixInsight to Photoshop to Lightroom |
| Median FWHM Pixels | L 2.436, R 2.336, G 2.173, B 2.410, Ha 2.246, |
Bodes and Cigar Galaxies – M81 M82 was last modified: January 23rd, 2023 by