M82 - Cigar Galaxy with Supernova SN2014J

galaxies

M82, the Cigar Galaxy, is a starburst galaxy 12 million light years away in Ursa Major, very close to M81 and often seen in the same shot with a wide enough field of view. It’s considered part of the M81 group, and the high activity in the galaxy is thought to be due to the interaction with galaxies in the M81 group.

In January, 2014, supernova SN2014J was discovered in M82. Although conditions weren’t perfect, I was able to capture some of the detail from the event. The supernova peaked in late January, with total visibility lasting several weeks. The images total about 120 frames of 30s, 60s, 120s, and 180s individual exposures with a Canon T4i DSLR and Edge 11” SCT at f/10.

The image below is a close up of the supernova.

Resolution ........ 0.317 arcsec/pix
Rotation .......... 135.629 deg
Focal ............. 2930.88 mm
Pixel size ........ 4.50 um
Field of view ..... 26' 50.7" x 17' 48.2"
Image center ...... RA: 09 55 30.276  Dec: +69 43 25.06