M81 (also called NGC 3031 or Bode's Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away. Due to its size and brightness, it's a popular target for amateur astronomers.

Technical Information       

Date:                        February, 2012

Location:                 Green Valley, Arizona

Telescope:               Takahashi FSQ-106EDX

Camera:                   SBIG ST-2000XM

Filters:                      Astrodon Gen 1

Mount:                     AstroPhysics 1200

Exposure:                 LRGB = 285:90:90:90 minutes, all unbinned

Software:                  Acquisition: Maxim DL 5, TheSkyX

                                  Processing: CCDStack, PhotoShop CS6 with various plugins