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.