Cigar Galaxy

Jaspal Chadha

London

Imaged from London using Altair Astro RC 250TT
Ioptron CEM60 mount
QSI 690 CCD
L: 5 x 5 min
RGB 3 x 10 min
Ha 3 x 30 min

This is the Cigar Galaxy, otherwise known as NGC 3034 or M82. This galaxy is ‘nearby†it’s at a neighbourly distance of 12-million light-years, in the constellation of Ursa Major. The galaxy itself is classified as a starburst galaxy. As a whole, M82 is 5 times brighter than the Milky Way. Up until recently, M82 was thought to be an irregular galaxy, but astronomers have since discovered two spiral arms.

2015-03-12T00:00:00