I learned about the M81 Group when looking up the details of the spiral galaxy NGC 2403 which I EAA observed on 01/27/2022. The M81 Group is a galaxy group in the constellations Ursa Major and Camelopardalis. There are two Messier Objects in the M81 Group: M81 also known as Bode’s Galaxy and M82 also known as the Cigar Galaxy.

According to the M81 Group Wikipedia entry there are 34 galaxies in the M81 Group, most of them are very faint with apparent magnitude greater than 10. Many will push my abilities and the limits of my gear, but I am going to work through attempting to EAA observe and capture each of the objects in the M81 Group. So I decided to dedicate a page to the pursuit of the M81 Group and my attempts to capture at least some of the 34 members.

I already have the 3 brightest galaxies in the group. Here are a few others which are <14 magnitude which I will start adding to my observation planning to attempt first:

NGC 2366, NGC 2976, NGC 3077, NGC 4236, Holmberg I, Holmberg II, UGC 8201, UGC 5692

Then I’ll take a look at attempting the dimmer (>14 mag) ones.

Resources:

• Atlas of the Universe – M81 Group
• Wikipedia M81 Group
• SEDS The M81 Group

Current Progress: 10 of about 34 M81 Group galaxies captured.

M81 Group	EAA Image	Date	Notes
UGC 5336, Holmberg IX		01/20/2023	Live stack: 12 x 300 second live stack, 121 gain Had to really stretch the histogram to get it, but it is there. Scope: SV503 102ED w/ 0.8 Focal Reducer (F/5.6) Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro Guided: Yes
NGC 2366		05/29/2022	Live stack: 45 x 20 second exposures 400 gain. Very faint but resolvable in the center of the FOV. Scope: SV503 102ED w/ 0.8 Focal Reducer (F/5.6) Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro Guided: No
UGC 5692		04/01/2022	Live stack: 80 x 15 second exposures at 121 gain, bin 2X2 Faint but resolvable in the center of the frame. Scope: Celestron C6 6″ SCT Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro Guided: No
M81 – Spiral Galaxy Bode’s Galaxy		01/27/2022	Live stack: 20 x 60 second exposures 350 gain. Scope: AT66ED Camera: SVBONY SV305 Guided: OSSAG, SV106
M82 – Starburst Galaxy The Cigar Galaxy		01/27/2022	Live stack: 10 x 60 second exposures 350 gain. Scope: AT66ED Camera: SVBONY SV305 Guided: OSSAG, SV106
NGC 2403 – Spiral Galaxy		01/27/2022	Live stack: 30 minutes, 30 and 60 second exposures 300 gain. Scope: AT66ED Camera: SVBONY SV305 Guided: OSSAG, SV106
NGC 3077		02/01/2022	Live stack: 40 x 30 second exposures 400 gain. Scope: AT66ED Camera: SVBONY SV305 Guided: OSSAG, SV106
NGC 2976		02/01/2022	Live stack: 40 x 30 second exposures 400 gain. Scope: AT66ED Camera: SVBONY SV305 Guided: OSSAG, SV106
NGC 4236		02/19/2022	Live stack: 120 x 15 second exposures 500 gain. Scope: AT66ED Camera: SVBONY SV305 Guided: No
IC 2574, Coddington’s Nebula		12/27/2022	Live stack: 10 x 30 second and 10 x 60 second exposures at 121 gain, bin 2X2 Faint but resolvable in the center of the frame. Scope: SVBONY SV503 102ED with 0.8 Focal Reducer (F/5.6) Camera: ZWO ASI294MC Pro Guided: No

Here is a wide field EAA capture from 04/23/2022 of M81 Group members M81, M82, NGC3077, and NGC2976.

I attempted to EAA observe and capture Holmberg I, UGC 5139, on 02/01/2022 but was unable to resolve.