Cigar and Bodes Galaxies

Our summer and winter views of the night sky are dominated by our own Milky Way Galaxy but during the spring and autumn the Earth is positioned in... more

by Prabhu Astrophotography

Title

Cigar and Bodes Galaxies

Artist

Prabhu Astrophotography

Medium

Photograph - Print

Description

Our summer and winter views of the night sky are dominated by our own Milky Way Galaxy but during the spring and autumn the Earth is positioned in such a place within its orbit around the Sun that we get an open window to the regions of space that lie beyond our own “island universe” and, consequently, we get to see other galaxies. By way of definition, a galaxy is a vast collection of stars, dust, and interstellar gas all bound together by gravity.

The M81 and M82 galaxies are a pair of galaxies located in the constellation, Ursa Major. M81 (Bode’s Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy that lies approximately 11.8 million light-years away, while M82 (The Cigar Galaxy) is a starburst galaxy at roughly the same distance away from Earth. These galaxies have a gravitational lock on each other and have affected the shape and composition of one another. The starburst activity is thought to have been triggered by interaction with M81. The Integrated Flux Nebula can be seen around the pair but this is extremely faint and difficult to photograph. Bode’s Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy are members of the M81 Group of galaxies. Holmberg IX is a dwarf irregular galaxy and a satellite galaxy of M81 which is also visible just below M81 in this image.

Uploaded

March 25th, 2021