Imaged from Beckwith Township, Ontario, Canada

Bottom and Left: Bode’s Galaxy (Messier 81, M81, NGC 3031) is a spiral galaxy located about 11.8 million light years away, is the largest member of the 34-member M81 group of galaxies, one of several groups of galaxies in Ursa Major. M81 is so bright (magnitude 6.94) that is among the easiest of galaxies to observe with amateur equipment, so look for M81 about 10 or so degrees to the northwestward of the star Dubhe, also known as Alpha Ursae Majoris.

Upper and Right: Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is a starburst galaxy which is also about 12 million light-years away and also in the constellation Ursa Major.

10 x 90 second light subs; Nikon D7200; ISO1600; Nikkor 300mm f/4E PR lens; F/5.17 (aperture mask used); on a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer mini equatorial mount. Total integration is only fifteen (15) minutes.

Shot in RAW; converted to TIFF files using ACR; Stacked in DSS; processed in CS6.