Wallpaper author:
Robert Gruszecki
29 Apr 2026
m81
M 81
Messier 81 lies at the center of a small group of galaxies, which also includes Messier 82, and which consists of at least ten galaxies. This so-called M81 group is very similar to our Local Group. Messier 81 and 82 are true neighbors and are currently moving away from each other. Both galaxies were discovered by Johann Elert Bode in Berlin on New Year's Eve 1774. On February 9, 1781, Charles Messier included this pair of galaxies in his catalog of nebulae under the numbers M81 and M82.
Dataset from which the image was processed
M81
20 credit
- Type of target............................................................................................................................Galaxy
- Camera............................................................................................................................FLI Proline PL16803
- Target coordinates............................................................................................................................RA 148.8883 Dec 69.0653
- Hemisphere............................................................................................................................Northern
- Telescope location............................................................................................................................United States of America
- Transient event............................................................................................................................No
- Observed on............................................................................................................................02 Feb 2022 - 08 Mar 2022
Filter | Avg Exp (s) | Total Exposure | Subframes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luminance | 1705 | 9h | 19 |
| Red | 758 | 4h | 19 |
| Green | 758 | 4h | 19 |
| Blue | 800 | 4h | 18 |
| Halpha | 1800 | 9h | 18 |