Messier 97 (lower right), and Messier 108 (upper left) in Ursa Major are one of the more interesting random pairings in the night sky, separated by an apparent angle of 48 arcminutes.

M97, the Owl Nebula, is a planetary nebula located in our own galaxy 2,600 light-years away. M108 is a spiral galaxy located far outside our own galaxy. It just happens to lie near the same line of sight as M97, but is located 45 million light-years away.

The Owl Nebula shines at magnitude 9.9 and subtends an apparent angle of 2.83 arcminutes, which corresponds to a real size of 2 light-years in space.

It is almost 3 times as large as the Ring Nebula, M57, but much fainter because its light is spread out over a larger area. Both M97 and M57 are planetary nebula, shells of gas blown off by their central stars late in their lifetimes. The central star in M97 is 16th magnitude and the nebula formed 6,000 years ago.

Galaxy M108 shines at magnitude 9.9 and subtends an apparent angle of 8.6 x 2.4 arcminutes, but is harder to see than M97 because its light is spread out over a larger area.

M108 is easy to find as it lies only 1.5 degree south-east of Merak (Beta Usrae Majoris).

M108 is an edge-on spiral galaxy that is heavily obscured by dust. Visually, M108 is similar to M82, another galaxy in the Ursa Major group.

M97 is one of only four planetary nebulae in Charles Messier's catalog and was discovered by Pierre Méchain on February 16, 1781. M108 was also discovered by Méchain three days after his discovery of M97.

North is to the left in the above image.

Messier 97 and Messier 108 Catalogs: M97, NGC 3587 M108, NGC 3556 Common Name: M97: Owl Nebula Object Type: M97: Planetary Nebula M108: SB(s)cd edge-on Galaxy Magnitude: M97: 9.9v M108: 9.9v Size: M97: 2.83' M108: 8.6' x 2.4' Constellation: Ursa Major Image Field Centered At: RA: 11h 13m 07s Dec: +55° 19' 07" Individual galaxy coordinates can be found in the Master List.