Messier 82 is a beautiful edge on star burst galaxy located about 12 million light years away in Ursa Major. It is much brighter than our own Milky Way galaxy because of gravitational influences of its closer neighbor M81. This influence is causing the galaxy to undergo an intense period of star formation.

Image Information:
Shot the night of 2/4/2016 from Southern Utah
Camera: Atik 414EX M @ -20C
Original Image Scale: 1.09" / Pixel
Scope: TPO 12" F4 with SkyWatcher F4CC
Orion Thin Off Axis Guider with ASI120MM as Guidecam
Mount: HDX110
LRGB (Min): 80:30:30:30 Bin 1X1, 6 Darks
Orion 2" LRGB filters
DSS and Photoshop

Conditions:
Seeing: ~ 5/10
Transparency: ~ 8/10
Wind: 1-2mph