| Description | Recorded February 9, 1781: "Nebula without star, near the preceding [M81]; both are appearing in the same field of the telescope, this one is less distinct than the preceding; its light faint & [it is] elongated: at its extremity is a telescopic star. Seen at Berlin, by M. Bode, on December 31, 1774, & by M. Méchain in the month August 1779." Halton Arp included M82 as one of 11 Messier "Peculiar Galaxies" in the "Miscellaneous" category, and commented "Internal explosion" <--> The broad outlines of this disrupted spiral galaxy are immediately obvious, but the details of the galactic center -- Arp's 'internal explosion' -- emerge much more slowly. Our view is nearly edge-on, and the spiral disk bends slightly near the the center towards the left. The base of the disrupted/exploded core is readily visible. Its furthest boundary is less clear. At star parties, when I explain my personal fascination with "Peculiar Galaxies", I usually offer this as the live EAA example. As with all of my Arp observations, the first image in the gallery is a comparison of my capture to the image Arp provided in his Atlas. Most were imaged using the 200" Hale Telescope on Mt. Palomar, on 5"x7" photographic plates. I created an inverted monochrome version of my capture that follows the comparison shot which shows the disruption a little more clearly, though less than Arp's does. |
