Bode's Galaxy is located in the constellation Ursa Major and its light has travelled 12 million years. Messier 81 and NGC 3031 are the galaxy's catalogue names. It is visible from the northern hemisphere in spring, but because of its proximity to the north celestial pole, it can be observed at almost any time of year. 

M81 is a grand design spiral galaxy, which means that it has large and well-defined spiral arms. Its diameter is about 91,000 light years, making it slightly smaller than our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The supermassive black hole at its centre is about 70 million times more massive than our own Sun. M81 is also part of our Local Group and is considered a close neighbour of the Milky Way in the Virgo Supercluster.

The dust and nebulae outside the galaxy are called galactic cirrus, which is material outside the main body of the Milky Way. This cirrus is extremely faint and is only made visible by the light of the Milky Way.