Show Us Your M81
June 3rd, 2007
Astronomers released this beautiful photograph of the grand spiral design galaxy, M81, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Although it looks like a single image, it was actually constructed by stitching together many images on computer, using three different wavelengths of light.
M81 is located about 11.6 million light-years in the constellation of Ursa Major. We’re fortunate that it’s turned at an oblique angle towards the Earth, so we can see a full view of the spiral structure. Hubble’s view of M81 is so crisp and clear that individual stars can be resolved, as well as open clusters and globular star clusters.
Found at Universe Today
