Discovered by the German astronomer Johann Elert Bode in 1774, M81 is one of the brightest galaxies in the night sky. It is located 11.6 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major and has an apparent magnitude of 6.9. A black hole of 70 million solar masses resides at the center of M81 and is about 15 times the mass of the Milky Way’s central black hole. The galaxy's large size and relatively high brightness also makes it a popular target for amateur astronomers. It is also popularly known as Bodes Galaxy and is often images with M82, the Cigar Galaxy in the same frame.