NGC 3077 is a small disrupted elliptical galaxy, a member of the M81 Group, which is located in the northern constellation Ursa Major.

First, it shows wispy edges and scattered dust clouds that are probably a result of gravitational interaction with its larger neighbors, similar to the galaxy M82.

He remarked that "On the nF (NE) side, there is a faint ray interrupting the roundness."

Admiral Smyth described it as "A bright-class round nebula; it is a lucid white, and lights up in the centre ... between these [stars,] the sky is intensely black, and shows the nebula as if floating in awful and illimitable space, at an inconceivable distance."

[2] However, NGC 3077 is close enough that the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) method may be used to estimate its distance.