Clic here for 80% size 2160x1440 (410 kB)
Clic here for 50% full frame size 1944x1322 (477 kB), just f/3 data
The two famous galaxies M 81 (left) and M 82 (right) in Ursa Major are situated 12 million light years away.
16" cassegrain in primefocus at f/3
About this Image
M 81 - Bode's face on galaxy shows tidal interaction from the only 150000 light years distant
M 82, the Cigar galaxy is distorted by the gravitational interaction with M 81 and shows strong H-alpha streamers in direction of the rotation axis far out from the galactic plane.
The f/3 data have been reworked with data at f/10 for M 81 and M 82, find the higher resolution images and more information here:
M 81 and M 82
Technical Details
Optics
Mount
MK-100 GEM
Camera
SBIG STL-11000M at -30C, internal filter wheel
Filters
Astronomik LRGB + H-alpha
Date
Jan 14, 2005 for f/3
Jan-Feb 2006 for f/10.
Location
Wildon/Austria
Sky Conditions
mag 5 sky, good transparency, temperature -2 C
Exposure
L:R:G:B = 60:30:30:30 minutes (10-minute sub-exposures), 60 min Halpha (30-minute sub-exposures) at f/3;
combined with seperate exposures at f/10
Processing
Image aquisition in Maxim, image calibration, aligning, DDP in ImagesPlus; H-alpha added to red; color balance, curves, L blending in Photoshop;
north is to the right;