- Vindemiatrix (stars.astro.illinois.edu)
VINDEMIATRIX (Epsilon Virginis). Just over the line into third magnitude (2.83) and third brightest in the constellation Virgo following first magnitude Spica (the Alpha star) and Porrima (Gamma), Vindemiatrix still wound up with Bayer’s Epsilon designation.
- Messier 81 (Wikipedia)
Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode’s Galaxy) is a grand design spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It has a D25 isophotal diameter of 29.44 kiloparsecs (96,000 light-years). Because of its relative proximity to the Milky Way galaxy, large size, and active galactic nucleus (which harbors a 70 million M☉ supermassive black hole), Messier 81 has been studied extensively by professional astronomers. The galaxy’s large size and relatively high brightness also makes it a popular target for amateur astronomers. In late February 2022, astronomers reported that M81 may be the source of FRB 20200120E, a repeating fast radio burst.