Bode's Galaxy (M81) Observation Details
M81 Daily Motion
M81 is circumpolar, never setting below the horizon and always visible in the night sky from your location. However, it will change its position significantly, moving 42 degrees over time. You can find the best times to observe M81, when it reaches its highest elevation, in the annual motion section.M81 will be visible until August, 9, when it will move too close to the Sun. During this time, its proximity to the Sun will cause it to disappear from the night sky, making it unobservable for a while.
M81 Visibility Timetable on May 18
M81 Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| M81 is always above the horizon | ||
| M81 transit | 19:43 | 61° |
| Sunset | 20:41 | 60° |
| Civil sunset | 21:13 | 59° |
| Astrosession begin | 22:34 | 53° |
| M81 is always above the horizon | ||
| Moon Rise, 73.2% illuminated | 01:28 | 38° |
| Astrosession end | 04:21 | 25° |
| Civil sunrise | 05:43 | 21° |
| Sunrise | 06:15 | 20° |
| Moon Set | 10:57 | 25° |
Track M81 Position Throughout the Night
← Sun, 18 May 2025 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
M81 - Bode's Galaxy
Bode's Galaxy (M81) is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774 and later cataloged by Charles Messier. M81 is one of the brightest galaxies in the sky and is part of the M81 Group of galaxies.
M81 spans about 90,000 light-years across and contains a massive population of stars, gas, and dust. The galaxy is approximately 12 million light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 6.9, making it visible with binoculars or a small telescope.
M81 Image Gallery
DSS Blue
DSS Red
DSS Near-Infrared
DSS Composite image
The photos are taken from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), which was produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) under NASA contract, using data from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS II).
Special thanks to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, and the California Institute of Technology for their significant contributions.
Finder Chart for M81
| Object name | M81 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M81 coordinates | 9.92588, 69.06531 |
| Center coordinates | 9.92588, 69.06531 |
M81 Passage Through Night
Current position of M81
| Time | 01:17 |
| Latitude | 39.9625 |
| Longitude | -83.0061 |
| M81 elevation | 39° |
| M81 Azimuth | 27° |
Annual motion of M81
| Date | Mon, 19 May 2025 |
| Twighlight start | 22:35 |
| Twighlight end | 04:19 |
| Twighlight duration | 6h 44m |
| Rise | M81 is always up |
| Set | M81 is always up |
| Elevation at transit | 61° |
| Transit time | 19:39 |
| Equatorial coordinates | RA: 09h 55m 33s", Dec: 69° 03' 55s |
| Magnitude | 7 |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
The graph is structured with the vertical axis showing the hours of the day, ranging from 12 AM to 12 AM the next day, while the horizontal axis spans each day of the year.
The reddish shaded area indicates the periods when the M81 is above the horizon, visible to observers. The white line marks the times when the celestial object reaches its highest point in the sky each day, known as the transit.
Data Credits
The nebulae information on this page is sourced from the OpenNGC project, developed by Matteo Verga. OpenNGC provides detailed data on the NGC catalog, which is a valuable resource for exploring deep-sky objects such as nebulae.
For more details or to contribute to OpenNGC, visit the official GitHub repository: OpenNGC on GitHub.