Bode’s Galaxy, Messier 81, resides in a neighborhood with the Cigar Galaxy, Messier 82, in the constellation Ursa Major. I love the variety of subtle colors, from the red hydrogen-alpha regions and new blue stars in Bode’s arms to the dark structures of the Cigar. With PixInsight, I created and applied dozens of different masks in order to extract the fine details of each galaxy. Although I only used a one-shot color camera, I was ultimately able to reveal many colors which I never knew were there. This photo really pushed me into new horizons with my image processing.
Acquisition Date: February 15, 2021–February 18, 2021
Acquisition Site: St. Helena, CA
Image Details: 267 x 120s (8h 54m)
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro, Takahashi TOA-130NFB, AP1200GTO