Bright Spiral Galaxy M81 from Hubble
Bright Spiral Galaxy M81 from Hubble
Credit: NASA,
ESA, and the
Hubble Heritage Team (
STScI/
AURA)
Explanation: The Hubble Space Telescope has resolved individual stars in a spectacular new image of nearby spiral galaxy M81. The feat is similar to
Edwin Hubble's historic images with the Mt. Wilson 100-inch Hooker Telescope in the 1920s that
resolved stars in neighboring galaxy
M31. Edwin
Hubble was able to use individual
Cepheid variable stars to show that M31 was not nearby swirling gas but rather an
entire galaxy like our
Milky Way Galaxy. This
above image in
visible light taken by the
Hubble Space Telescope is being used in conjunction with
images being taken in
ultraviolet by
Galex, infrared by
Spitzer, and
X-rays with
Chandra to study how stars have formed and died over the history M81. Light takes about 12 million
years to reach us from M81.
M81 is visible with binoculars toward the constellation of the Great Bear (
Ursa Major).
Bright Spiral Galaxy M81 from Hubble
Knowledge Talks, Wisdom Listens. 
