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M82 Starburst Galaxy
The Supergalactic Wind
Product Description
Star
formation occurs at a faster pace
in M82
-- a galaxy with about ten times the rate of massive star birth (and
death) compared to our Milky
Way.
Winds
from massive stars and blasts from supernova
explosions have created a billowing cloud of expanding gas from this
remarkable starburst
galaxy. The above
scientifically color-coded image
highlights the complexity and origin
of the plume by combining a wide
field image from the WIYN
Telescope in Arizona
with a smaller high-resolution image from the orbiting Hubble
Space Telescope.
M82's aspect in optical pictures has led to its popular moniker, the Cigar
Galaxy. M82's
burst of star formation was likely triggered a mere 100 million years
ago in the latest of a series
of bouts
with neighboring large galaxy M81.
Text:
APOD