Bode's Galaxy (M81)

Object Type: Galaxy
Scope: C-9.25"; Exposure 120 minutes.

Messier 81 (NGC 3031), known as Bode's Galaxy, is a striking grand-design spiral about 12 million light-years away in Ursa Major, with beautifully symmetric arms winding into the core. It hosts an active galactic nucleus powered by a supermassive black hole of around 70 million solar masses. Its large size and brightness make it a favorite of both professional researchers and amateur observers; in 1993 it hosted SN 1993J, one of the best-studied supernovae of modern times. It forms a well-known pair in the sky with the nearby Cigar Galaxy (M82).