M81 - Bode's Galaxy and the Cigar

Sat, 19 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Bode’s Galaxy (M81) is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major, named after German astronomer Johann Elert Bode, who discovered it in 1774. At a distance of roughly 12 million light-years, it’s one of the brightest and best-studied galaxies in the northern sky. Its well-defined, symmetric spiral arms make it a favorite astrophotography target — together with its neighbor, the Cigar Galaxy M82, it forms a striking pair of interacting galaxies.

M 101 - Pinwheel Galaxy

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Pinwheel Galaxy is a classic spring target and is ideally placed from our location around the middle of April. These were the first images taken with the Celestron EdgeHD 8. The small spikes visible on the stars kept me puzzled for a long time, and I was convinced for a while that they were down to poor collimation. In the end it became clear to me that they were spikes caused by the dew heater. With the heater switched off, the spikes disappear. So from now on it’s dew shield only, and no heater.

Galaxy on 庭 — a journal

M81 - Bode's Galaxy and the Cigar

M 101 - Pinwheel Galaxy