M 82 – The Cigar Galaxy

M 82 – The Cigar Galaxy Description: Messier 82, the Cigar Galaxy, is revealed here in a rather unusual way. I used a narrow-bandpass filter (hydrogen-alpha), which shows filaments of ionized gas in its central region being ejected by a galactic superwind....

M 82 and M 81 in the Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN)

M82 and M81 in the Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN) Description: We usually see photos of M82, the Cigar Galaxy, or M81, Bode’s Galaxy, in a tight frame showing them alone or in a well-framed pair. This photo shows them in a wider field of view and with long...

M 94 – Spiral Galaxy

M 94 – Spiral galaxy Description: The spiral galaxy Messier 94 is located in the constellation Canes Venatici (Hunting Dogs) about 14 million light years from us. Among its peculiarities, we note a star formation disc around the nucleus. Also seen there (visible...

M 96 – Spiral galaxy

M 96 – Spiral galaxy Description: The spiral galaxy Messier 96 is located in the constellation Leo about 41 million light years from us. It is almost the same size as our Milky Way. M96 is a very asymmetric galaxy with regions of dust and gas distributed very...

M 101 – The Pinwheel Galaxy

M 101 – The Pinwheel Galaxy Description: The Pinwheel Galaxy is much larger than our Milky Way galaxy and its distance is estimated at 22 million light years. The fact that it is seen face-on gives it a low surface brightness. It is therefore not easy to observe...