Astronomy Picture of the Day . M81 in True Color . ... Here's what a spiral galaxy REALLY looks like. ... M81: A Bulging Spiral Galaxy . ... Few stars are still forming in the old giant spiral galaxy M81. The blue regions in this picture - representing ultraviolet light - highlight regions of bright young stars and star formation and appear rare than in M74 and M33. The red regions - representing the visible light - show a large population of older, less massive stars. ...