Messier 81 also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Due to its proximity to Earth large size and active galactic nucleus] or supermassive black hole), Messier 81 has been studied extensively by professional astronomers. The galaxy's large size and relatively high brightness also make it a popular target for amateur astronomer. Messier 81 was first discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774.Consequently, the galaxy is sometimes referred to as "Bode's Galaxy". In 1779 Pierre Méchain and Charles Messier reidentified Bode's object which was subsequently listed in the Messier Catalogue. M81 is one of two galaxies strongly influenced gravitationally. The other, NGC
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Only one supernova, SN 1993J, has been detected in M81. It was discovered by F. Garcia in Spain on March 28, 1993 and peaked at apparent magnitude +10.8, making it the brightest supernova in the northern part of the sky since 1954. he beautiful galaxy Messier 81 is tilted at an oblique angle on to our line of sight, giving a "birds-eye view" of the spiral structure. The galaxy is similar to our Milky Way, but our favorable view provides a better picture of the typical architecture of spiral galaxies. Though the galaxy is 11.6 million light-years away, the vision of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is so sharp that it can resolve individual stars, along with open star clusters, globular star clusters, and even glowing regions of fluorescent gas. The spiral arms, which wind all the way down into the nucleus, are made up of young, bluish, hot stars formed in the past few million years. They also host a population of stars formed in an episode of star formation that started about 600 million years ago. The greenish regions are dense areas of bright star formation. The ultraviolet light from hot young stars are fluorescing the surrounding clouds of hydrogen gas. A number of sinuous dust lanes also wind all the way into the nucleus of Messier 81.The galaxy's central bulge contains much older, redder stars. It is significantly larger than the Milky Way's bulge. The central black hole is 70 million solar masses, or 15 times the mass of the Milky Way's black hole. Previous Hubble research shows that the size of the central black hole in a galaxy is proportional to the mass of a galaxy's bulge. Messier 81 may be undergoing a surge of star formation along the spiral arms due to a close encounter it may have had with its nearby spiral galaxy NGC 3077 and a nearby starburst galaxy (Messier 82) about 300 million years ago. Astronomers plan to use the Hubble image to study the star formation
Only one supernova, SN 1993J, has been detected in M81. It was discovered by F. Garcia in Spain on March 28, 1993 and peaked at apparent magnitude +10.8, making it the brightest supernova in the northern part of the sky since 1954. he beautiful galaxy Messier 81 is tilted at an oblique angle on to our line of sight, giving a "birds-eye view" of the spiral structure. The galaxy is similar to our Milky Way, but our favorable view provides a better picture of the typical architecture of spiral galaxies. Though the galaxy is 11.6 million light-years away, the vision of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is so sharp that it can resolve individual stars, along with open star clusters, globular star clusters, and even glowing regions of fluorescent gas. The spiral arms, which wind all the way down into the nucleus, are made up of young, bluish, hot stars formed in the past few million years. They also host a population of stars formed in an episode of star formation that started about 600 million years ago. The greenish regions are dense areas of bright star formation. The ultraviolet light from hot young stars are fluorescing the surrounding clouds of hydrogen gas. A number of sinuous dust lanes also wind all the way into the nucleus of Messier 81.The galaxy's central bulge contains much older, redder stars. It is significantly larger than the Milky Way's bulge. The central black hole is 70 million solar masses, or 15 times the mass of the Milky Way's black hole. Previous Hubble research shows that the size of the central black hole in a galaxy is proportional to the mass of a galaxy's bulge. Messier 81 may be undergoing a surge of star formation along the spiral arms due to a close encounter it may have had with its nearby spiral galaxy NGC 3077 and a nearby starburst galaxy (Messier 82) about 300 million years ago. Astronomers plan to use the Hubble image to study the star formation