7. Bode’s Galaxy (M81;NGC 3031) Apparent Magnitude 7.8
Located in the constellation Ursa Major lies Bode’s galaxy, a spiral galaxy discovered by Johann Elert Bode. The galaxy is 11.8 million light-years from the Earth and it features a near exceptionally well-defined spiral arms. Only one supernova was detected in M81, but it was the brightest supernova in the northern part of the sky since 1954. M81 features galactic nucleus that contains a supermassive black hole that is 15 times the mass of the black hole in the Milky Way Galaxy. Very near M81 is M82, a starburst galaxy known as the Cigar galaxy, together they form a very impressive view.
