M81 (NGC3031) in Ursa Major was discovered from Berlin by Johann Elert Bode in 1774. Therefore M81 is also known as 'Bode's Galaxy'. Arguably Johann Elert was born for the telescope as he only had one working eye. Thanks to him we call the seventh planet 'Uranus'.

EXPOSURE DATA: Celestron C8 with Baader Alan Gee Focal reducer; Vixen GP-DX equatorial mount; GotoStar; Atik 16HR camera; L= 40x80s 2x2 binned, R & G 12x40s 3x3 binned B 16x40s 3x3 binned; unguided exposures, taken on Februari 8, 2008 from my backyard in The Hague, Holland.

EXPOSURE DATA: TAL 150 PM 150mm f/5 Newtonian telescope on a Vixen SP equatorial mount; Starlight Xpress MX5-C CCD camera; 35 out of 40 unguided exposures of 60s; taken on April 2, 2005 from my backyard in The Hague, Holland. The image above is one of the first I took after modifying the MX5-C to the new Sony IXC405AK CCD. Terry Platt of Starlight Xpress helped me by instructing me how to modifythe camera's circuit. For comparison an earlier image, also consisting of about 35 60s exposures, is shown below. This image was recorded before the modification, but under a slightly more transparent sky.