M81 is a relatively nearby spiral galaxy, the largest in a small galaxy group. The smaller companion galaxy, located above M81, is Holmberg IX. It's an irregular galaxy not unlike one of our Magellanic clouds. This image was taken with a 12.5" PlaneWave CDK scope and a Quantum-Scientific QSI640ws camera at f/5.2. It's a composite image, shot through hydrogen-alpha, luminance, and RGB filters. Data were acquired on 1/17 and 2/15/015 for a total of 11 hours from a dark-sky site near Anza, CA.
Bruce Waddington