This galaxy field in Ursa Major contains two
very bright Messier galaxies: the beautiful spiral M81 and its
active-core neighbour M82. The other bright galaxy in the field
is NGC 3077. NGC 3077 is the smaller member of the M81 Group.
While this galaxy at first appears to be a typical elliptical
galaxy, a closer examination of the image below reveals several
dark lanes extending from the non-uniform nucleus. The galaxy is
one of the members of the M-81 group, and it is more akin to
disturbed galaxy M-82 than it is to an elliptical. This is
probably another group member disrupted by the gravitational
force of giant spiral galaxy M-81, and as a result, it is a site
of intense star formation. Supernovae have blown giant bubbles
in the gas of the galaxy that can be seen as dark voids in the
image.
