Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Ursa Major (UMa)  ·  Contains:  Bode's Galaxy  ·  Cigar Galaxy  ·  M 81  ·  M 82  ·  NGC 3031  ·  NGC 3034
M81 & M82 : Gravity, Dustin Enfinger
M81 & M82 : Gravity
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M81 & M82 : Gravity

M81 & M82 : Gravity, Dustin Enfinger
M81 & M82 : Gravity
Powered byPixInsight

M81 & M82 : Gravity

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Description

Bode's Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy
(Reprocessing Instance #438)

These two galaxies are tidally locked to one another engaged in a cosmic dance aroumd 12 million LY from Earth. 

M81 is one of the brightest and near perfect examples of a spiral galaxy visible from Earth.  M82 is a fantastic example of a starburst galaxy and being the closest to Earth of it's kind has been studied extensively.  The red starbursts of M82 are due partly to the violent shockwaves that travel down the arms of M82 towards the core that are intensified by M81's gravitational force.

One result of the increased intensity of the shockwaves along the arms and dust lanes of M82 is that stellar formation has been drastically increased.  Stars form in this galaxy around 10 times the rate that stars form in our home
galaxy.

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