Ursa Major the Great Bear is a picture window into the universe's depths. While hundreds of galaxies lie within its borders, M81 is a terrrfic object for any instrument.

To find it with binoculars, look at the Big Dipper, the asterism contained in Ursa Major. Trace an imaginary line from the star Phecda (the bowl's lower left star) to Dubhe (at the bowl's upper right corner), then an equal distance to the northwest. Continue past an arc of faint stars to a small right triangle. Once there, look southeast of the triangle for a faint, small smudge of light. That's M81.

M81 shows the classic Sb spiral form through binoculars as small as 7x35s. More powerful binoculars will intensify the contrast between the galaxy's bright central nucleus and the spiral arms dimmer surrounding.

See a larger view here.

NGC 3227	Bristlecone and Milky Way	California Nebula	ISS Path
Geminid meteor shower	Jellyfish Nebula	Owl Nebula (M97)	International Space Station
Leo Triplet	Black Eye Galaxy (M674)	Eclipse with Moai	July total solar eclipse
Markarian's Chain	Milky Way over Bariloche	NGC 7380 (Wizard Nebula)	Auriga
Our moon	NGC 3227	The Rosette Nebula	Merope
Cone Nebula