Bode's Galaxy (M81)
A grand design spiral galaxy in Ursa Major, visible with binoculars and a popular target for amateur astronomers.
Galaxy in Ursa Major. Magnitude 6.9.
Can you see it from Guyana?
From Georgetown (6.8° N) it climbs to 28° above the northern horizon at its highest; from Lethem (3.4° N), to 24° above the northern horizon. It is highest at midnight on the night of 16 Feb, in the middle of its season. The page works out tonight's rise, highest point and set for both towns in Guyana time (UTC-4), and where the Moon is.
What you'll see
- Your eyes: Not visible to the eye.
- 10x50 binoculars: A faint smudge from a dark site.
- A small telescope (80 to 100 mm): A bright oval core; M82 sits in the same low-power field.
- A camera: Spans about 40% of an APS-C frame at 1,500 mm (field 0.9° × 0.6°); needs a tracking mount.
How big, how bright, how far
- Size on the sky: 26′ × 14′, 84% of the Moon's width (the Moon is about 31′ wide).
- Brightness: magnitude 6.9. Fainter than the faintest stars in Georgetown (4.3) and Lethem (6.0): binoculars or a telescope.
- Distance: 12 million light-years. The light reaching your eye left it about 12 million years ago.
What it is made of
- Type
- Galaxy
- Distance
- Approx. 11.8 million Lightyears
- True size
- Approx. 90,000 Lightyears diameter
- Spiral Arms: Contains star-forming regions
- Bulge Stars: Dominated by older stellar population
More deep-sky objects: Cigar Galaxy (M82) · NGC 2403 (Galaxy) · Galaxy M106 · Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) · Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) · Needle Galaxy (NGC 4565)