Object Analysis

The Cigar Galaxy (Messier 82) is a starburst galaxy approximately 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It is five times more luminous than the Milky Way and one hundred times more luminous at its center. The intense starburst activity is thought to have been triggered by a close encounter with the neighboring spiral galaxy M81.

M82 is famous for its "superwind," a massive outflow of ionized gas driven by the collective winds of many massive stars and supernova explosions. In telescopic images, this wind appears as spectacular red filaments of hydrogen extending perpendicular to the galactic disk, reaching thousands of light-years into space.

Originally believed to be an irregular galaxy, infrared observations discovered two symmetric spiral arms in 2005. However, the arms were not visible in optical images due to the high surface brightness of the galaxy's disk and the obscuring dust lanes that give it its cigar-like shape.