Main
1 / 9
Deep Sky
M81: Bode's Galaxy
M81, also known as Bode's Galaxy, is a large spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. It is one of the brightest galaxies visible from Earth and is often photographed with nearby M82.
Equipment Seestar S30
Location Florida, USA
Total integration 3 hours
Quick Facts
Object type Grand Design Spiral Galaxy
Constellation Ursa Major
Distance ~12 million light-years
Apparent magnitude 6.9
Diameter ~90,000 light-years
Discovered 1774
Where it is in the sky
This simple finder map shows the general area of the night sky where this target is located.
What you're looking at
The bright central core contains billions of older stars, while the faint outer disk and spiral arms contain younger stars, dust, and star-forming regions.
Why it is interesting
M81 is gravitationally interacting with nearby M82. That interaction helps make this galaxy pair one of the most interesting wide-field galaxy targets for amateur telescopes.
How I captured it
Captured with a Seestar S30.
Observation Log
Total integration time: 3 hours across 5 sessions.
2026-06-11 — 33 minutes 20 second exposures
2026-06-14 — 30 minutes 20 second exposures
2026-06-21 — 40 minutes 20 second exposures
2026-06-23 — 54 minutes 20 second exposures
2026-06-28 — 20 minutes 20 second exposures