M82M82

Starburst Galaxy in Ursa Major
 NGC 3034
Mag 8.4
The Cigar Galaxy

04/11/12

05/11/12
Hazy, Smokey,21:00 to 23:00

18/04/13
Obvious shape!

18/07/13
Very 'long' tonight,seems to spread across half the FOV in 12mm

04/11/13
Beautifully defined in 12mm along with M81

18/06/14
Well defined shape but very faint in a sky not yet dark at 11:40pm just a few days from the longest day!

20/06/14
A real 'cigar' shape but not much else in a not dark sky a midnight!

25/06/14
Wow, you can really see why it's called the Cigar Galaxy
Very large and sharp tonight, in 12mm it stretches across about a 5th or 6th of the FOV
Impressive!

01/07/14
The best I've ever seen the Cigar Galaxy
Spreading a quarter of the way across the FOV in 12mm with a bright distinct core and bulge before tapering away either side

28/01/16
Like M81 really big, bright and with a well defined elongation in 12mm, so much easier to observe than the NGCs I've been observing lately
A definite 'rift' in it in moments of good seeing when the telescope stopped shaking in the wind!

30/01/16
Big, bright and a really interesting shape, not just elongated but at higher magnifications ragged along both long edges
Viewed using 18mm and Barlow which gave a nice dark field, however due to the breeze the FOV didn't stay still for very long

10/03/16
Perhaps the most obviously defined shape of any easily observed Galaxy and clearly meriting it's name of The Cigar Galaxy
The dark dust lane which splits it is observable with inverted vision even under tonight's less than good seeing

13/03/16
Always a pleasure to observe, tonight being no exception
Tried 18mm for a change, which gives by today's standards quite a narrow FOV, 44 degree apparent FOV but which makes the field nice and dark and contrasty, perfect for bright and distinctly shaped Galaxies like M82

07/08/16
Together with its traveling companion, M82 makes a stunning sight in 12mm
Very long and thin and appears split diagonally, fairly uniform brightness and one of the classic Galaxies to observe, helped by its ease of location