by Craig & Tammy Temple
M82 is an edge-on spiral galaxy in Ursa Major, yielding it's nickname - The Cigar Galaxy. M81, a very close neighbor may have had some influence on distorting M82 such that it is sometimes classified as an irregular galaxy. This image is 4 hours total exposure time, taken on February 23, 2009 from our driveway in Hendersonville, TN. The temperature was 35° F.
- Celestron C8 SCT at f/6.3
- Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD
- Guided with Orion 80ED using PHD
- Canon 350D (self-modified) w/2" Baader UV/IR cutoff filter
- 81 x 180s @ ISO 1600