Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  Cigar Galaxy  ·  M 82  ·  NGC 3034
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M82 The Cigar galaxy, Mathieu Guinot
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M82 The Cigar galaxy

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M82 The Cigar galaxy, Mathieu Guinot
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M82 The Cigar galaxy

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Description

The famous Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is a starburst galaxy approximately 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.
M82 is the prototypical example of this galaxy type and this starburst activity is thought to have been triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81 (tidal forces caused by gravity have deformed M82, a process that started about 100 million years ago. This interaction has caused star formation to increase tenfold compared to "normal" galaxies).

Starburst galaxies are defined by these three interrelated factors:
- The rate at which the galaxy is currently converting gas into stars (the star-formation rate, or SFR).
-The available quantity of gas from which stars can be formed.
- A comparison of the timescale on which star formation will consume the available gas with the age or rotation period of the galaxy

In the core of M82, four high surface brightness regions or clumps (designated A, C, D, and E) are detectable at visible wavelengths. M82's unique bipolar outflow appears to be concentrated on clumps A and C, and is fueled by energy released by supernovae within the clumps which occur at a rate of about one every ten years.

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M82 The Cigar galaxy, Mathieu Guinot

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