page_title: Messier 81
section_title: M81 Group
hierarchical_section_title: Messier 81 / M81 Group
caption_attribution_description: This is a visible light image of Messier 81 (left) and Messier 82 (right) taken with my backyard telescope in Kalkaska, MI in April of 2007. w:en:Category:Galaxy images
context_page_description: Messier 81 is a spiral galaxy. It is in the constellation Ursa Major. It is large. It is about 12 million light-years from Earth. It has an active galactic nucleus. For these reasons Messier 81 has been well studied by professional astronomers. The galaxy is large and very bright. This makes it a popular object for amateur astronomers to look at.
  Messier 81 was first discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774. The galaxy is sometimes called "Bode's Galaxy". In 1779, Pierre Méchain and Charles Messier reidentified Bode's object. They listed it as Messier 81 in the Messier Catalogue.
context_section_description: Messier 81 is the largest galaxy in the M81 Group.  The M81 Group is a group of 34 galaxies in the constellation Ursa Major.  This Group and the Local Group, containing the Milky Way, are close together in the Virgo Supercluster.
caption: M81 (left) and M82 (right).  M82 is one of two galaxies strongly influenced gravitationally by M81.  The other, NGC 3077, is located off the top edge of this image.
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