Messier 82 (NGC 3034), the Cigar Galaxy is a "starburst" galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major (the Big Bear) and is visible along with M81, Bode's Nebula, just off the end of the dipper portion of the Big Dipper in Ursa Major. The galaxy is seen edge-on from Earth, giving it the cigar shape visible through a typical telescope. It is approximately 12 million light-years away.

The starburst activity visible as red wisps of hydrogen emanating from the core is thought to have been triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81.

This image is a stack of 49 ten-minute subs taken with my QHY247C through the 11" Edge HD. The images were stacked in Deep Sky Stacker and post processed in PixInsight and Photoshop.

Image Center:	View full size annotated image.
Right Ascension:	9h 55m 52.695s (148° 58m 10.424s)
Declination:	+69° 41m 13.771s
Orientation:	Up is 0.3 degrees East of North.
Image Size:	28.712' x 19.074'	Pixel Scale:	0.288"

Principal objects in field: Bode's nebulae, M 82, NGC 3034

All identified catalog objects: NGC 3034