Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  Cigar Galaxy  ·  M 82  ·  NGC 3034
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M 82 - The Cigar Galaxy, James E.
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M 82 - The Cigar Galaxy

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M 82 - The Cigar Galaxy, James E.
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M 82 - The Cigar Galaxy

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Description

M82, the Cigar Galaxy, experiences gravitational interactions with its neighbor, M81, causing it to have an extraordinarily high rate of star formation - a starburst. Around the galaxy’s center, young stars are being born 10 times faster than in our Milky Way. Radiation and energetic particles from these newborn stars carve into the surrounding gas with the resulting galactic wind compressing enough gas to make millions of more stars. The rapid rate of star formation will eventually consume the material needed to make more stars. The starburst will then subside - probably in a few tens of millions of years.

Credit: NASA.gov

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M 82 - The Cigar Galaxy, James E.

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