M82 - The Cigar Galaxy
Sun Mar 29 2026
Onto the next galaxy for the season, the Cigar Galaxy! This is one that I’ve imaged before a couple of times but only along with its neighbor M81, Bode’s Galaxy in a wide field view and never on its own with a zoomed in view like this.
About this object
- Type
- Galaxy
- Constellation
- Ursa Major (the Great Bear)
- Distance
- ~12 million light-years
- Apparent magnitude
- 8.3
- Apparent size
- 11.0′ × 5.1′
- Also known as
- Cigar Galaxy
- Catalogue designations
- M 82, NGC 3034
The Cigar Galaxy (M82) is a starburst galaxy forming stars at a furious rate after a close encounter with its neighbour M81. Superwinds driven by that activity blast glowing hydrogen out from its core.
Acquisition
- Antlia V-Pro Red 36 mm: 114 × 1m (1h 54m)
- Antlia V-Pro Green 36 mm: 162 × 1m (2h 42m)
- Antlia V-Pro Blue 36 mm: 107 × 1m (1h 47m)
- Antlia 3nm Narrowband H-alpha 36 mm: 91 × 3m (4h 33m)
- Total integration: 10h 56m
Equipment
- Telescope / Lens: Celestron C8
- Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Mount: Celestron CGEM II
- Filters: Antlia 3nm Narrowband H-alpha 36 mm, Antlia V-Pro Blue 36 mm, Antlia V-Pro Green 36 mm, Antlia V-Pro Red 36 mm
- Guiding scope: SVBony SV106 60mm Guide Scope
- Guiding camera: ZWO ASI174MM Mini
- Accessories: Celestron 0.63X SCT Reducer (94175), ZWO EFW 7 x 36mm
- Software: Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight
Astrophotography by David Joyce, AstroDavido.