Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  Cigar Galaxy  ·  HD85161  ·  HD85533  ·  M 82  ·  NGC 3034
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M82 - The lit cigar in Ursa Major, Monty Chandler
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M82 - The lit cigar in Ursa Major, Monty Chandler
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Description

Messier 82 (M82)

A bright Starburst galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major, about 12 million light-years away.  It's also known as the Cigar Galaxy because of its elliptical shape.

M82 is a spiral galaxy that's undergoing a starburst, a massive burst of star formation in its core.  It has a gravitatioonal interaction with its nearby galaxy, M81, which causes it to have an extremely high rate of star formation.

M82 is a prototype starburst galaxy and the second-largest member of the M81 group.  It's bright at infrared wavelength and has over 30 billion stars.

M82 can be found in the northern skies in the direction of Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear.

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M82 - The lit cigar in Ursa Major, Monty Chandler