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Credit & Copyright: Paolo De
Salvatore (Zenit Observatory)
Explanation:
One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky is similar in size
to our Milky Way Galaxy: big,
beautiful
Messier 81.
Also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's galaxy for its 18th century discoverer,
this
grand spiral can be found toward
the northern constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear.
The
detailed telescopic view reveals M81's bright yellow nucleus, blue
spiral arms, pink starforming regions, and sweeping
cosmic dust lanes.
Some dust lanes actually run through the galactic disk (left of center),
contrary to other prominent
spiral features though.
The errant dust lanes may be the lingering result
of a close encounter between M81
and its smaller companion galaxy, M82.
Scrutiny of variable stars in M81 has yielded one of the best
determined
distances for an external galaxy -- 11.8 million light-years.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: spiral galaxy - M 81
Publications with words: spiral galaxy - M 81
See also:
- Webb and Hubble: IC 5332
- APOD: 2026 February 4 Á Spiral Galaxy NGC 1512: Wide Field
- Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1365 from Webb
- APOD: 2026 January 14 Á M51: The Whirlpool Galaxy
- IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis
- NGC 253: Dusty Island Universe
- APOD: 2025 November 5 Á Spiral Galaxy NGC 3370 from Hubble