ScienceDownEast | ScienceDownEast Astrophotography | Galaxies | M82 Cigar Galaxy | M82 (Cigar Galaxy)
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Messier 82, the Cigar Galaxy, is an edge-on starburst galaxy in Ursa Major, located about 12 million light-years away and gravitationally paired with the larger spiral M81, from which it lies only about 130,000-150,000 light-years distant. A close gravitational encounter between the two galaxies millions of years ago distorted M82's disk and triggered an intense, ongoing burst of star formation, giving the galaxy its classification as a starburst galaxy. This furious star formation drives a galactic superwind of ionized gas that streams outward above and below the galaxy's disk, visible in Hα as reddish filamentary plumes extending well beyond the compact ~40,000-light-year stellar disk. Combining broadband color data with Hα is the standard approach for capturing both M82's disk and its distinctive superwind.
[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_82]
Messier 82, the Cigar Galaxy, is an edge-on starburst galaxy in Ursa Major, located about 12 million light-years away and gravitationally paired with the larger spiral M81, from which it lies only about 130,000-150,000 light-years distant. A close gravitational encounter between the two galaxies millions of years ago distorted M82's disk and triggered an intense, ongoing burst of star formation, giving the galaxy its classification as a starburst galaxy. This furious star formation drives a galactic superwind of ionized gas that streams outward above and below the galaxy's disk, visible in Hα as reddish filamentary plumes extending well beyond the compact ~40,000-light-year stellar disk. Combining broadband color data with Hα is the standard approach for capturing both M82's disk and its distinctive superwind.
[Source: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_82]
| Moon Phase | First Quarter | ||||||||||
| Camera | Seestar S30 Pro (4K Sony IMX585 sensor) | ||||||||||
| Optics | 160 mm focal length, f/5.3, 30 mm aperture (APO quadruplet) | ||||||||||
| Date | 2026-04-24 | ||||||||||
| PixInsight Processing |
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