M82 (NGC 3034)

M82 (NGC 3034)

Type	Location	r.a.	dec.	Size	Magnitude	Distance
Galaxy	Ursa Major	09h55.8	69°41'	11' x 4.6'	8.4	12 Mly

Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is the prototype nearby starburst galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. The starburst galaxy is five times brighter than the whole Milky Way and one hundred times brighter than our galaxy's center.

A very bright supernova SN2014J appeared in this galaxy on Jan 14th, 2014. The following image was shot on Feb 2nd. The supernova is at its peak with an apparent magnitude of 10.5 which saturates the CCD camera even after reducing the exposure time to 120s compared to the usual 300s pose. Sky conditions were poor, therefore the lack of sharpness of the image. More about SN2014J

Supernova SN2014J in M82

Date	Telescope	Binning	Exp Time (s)	Special processing	Notes
Feb 2, 2014	Centurion 18"	L 1:1 RGB 3:1	L 4x120 R,G,B 120	LRGB	Max Entropy

M82 imaged again on March 9th, 2014. Supernova SN2014J is fading out and shows a yellow color.

Supernova SN2014J fading out in M82

Date	Telescope	Binning	Exp Time (s)	Special processing	Notes
March 9, 2014	Centurion 18"	L 1:1 RGB 3:1	L 4x300 R,G,B 300	LRGB, Max Entropy	Moon 1st quarter...

Older images (before supernova)

Full frame (Field of view = 35' x 23'):

M82, NGC 3034

Galaxy detail:

M82, NGC 3034 detail