Messier 82

Messier 82 is a nearby starburst galaxy in Ursa Major, also called the Cigar Galaxy. Intense star formation drives powerful winds that carry gas and dust out of its disk.

Starburst galaxy: A galaxy forming stars at a rate far above the typical rate for galaxies of comparable mass. M82 is a nearby example, with concentrated star formation in its central region.
Cigar Galaxy: The common nickname for Messier 82, based on its elongated appearance in the sky. The nickname captures the narrow profile seen when the galaxy’s disk is viewed nearly edge-on.
M81: A large spiral galaxy in Ursa Major and the brightest member of the M81 Group. Its interaction with M82 helped trigger strong gas flows and star formation.
Messier 81: A nearby grand-design spiral galaxy in Ursa Major, also known as Bode’s Galaxy. M81 is the larger, more orderly spiral companion to starbursting M82.
Galactic wind: A large-scale outflow of gas from a galaxy, driven by stellar activity or a central black hole. Supernovae and stellar winds in M82’s starburst lift gas above and below its disk.
M82-I: A massive young star cluster in Messier 82. Its resolved stars and age help constrain how the galaxy’s starburst formed.
M81 Group: A nearby group of galaxies centered on M81 and including Messier 82 and several smaller galaxies. M82’s environment and interaction history are understood within this neighboring galaxy group.
Messier 83: A barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Hydra, known for its active star formation and supernovae. It offers a face-on comparison for studying star formation without M82’s edge-on view.
Supernova remnant: The expanding debris and shock waves left after a star explodes as a supernova. Overlapping explosions help energize M82’s outflow and its bright radio emission.
M82-II: A massive young star cluster in Messier 82. It is another compact cluster used to study star formation under starburst conditions.

Linked from 2 pages