Bode’s Galaxy

Bode’s Galaxy, also known as Messier 81, is a grand design spiral galaxy ind the constellation Ursa Major. It was discover in 1774 by Johann Elert Bode, who also determined the orbit of the planet Uranus and actually proposed the name. The galaxy is about half the size of the Milky Way and 12 million light years away.

This is a standard LRGB composite image using more than 16 hours of data, mainly in the luminance channel. The observation conditions were pretty bad, lots of humidity and possibly some dew on the lens, which is probably the reason for the star halos.