M82 - CIGAR GALAXY

The Cigar Galaxy (M82, NGC 3034) is a starburst galaxy located approximately 11.5 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774, and Charles Messier cataloged it in 1781. M82 is the prototype starburst galaxy, undergoing an extraordinarily intense episode of star formation that is producing new stars at a rate roughly ten times higher than a typical galaxy. This prodigious star formation was triggered by a close gravitational encounter with its larger neighbor M81 (Bode's Galaxy) about 300 million years ago, which compressed gas clouds in M82's center and ignited the starburst. The most dramatic feature of M82 is the enormous bipolar outflow of hot gas and dust being expelled perpendicular to the galaxy's disk. These superwind plumes, powered by the combined energy of millions of young stars and thousands of supernovae going off in the starburst region, extend thousands of light-years above and below the galactic plane and are prominently visible in hydrogen-alpha images. M82 is classified as an irregular galaxy due to its disturbed, edge-on appearance that hides any underlying structure. The galaxy has a visual magnitude of about 8.4 and spans approximately 37,000 light-years in length. In January 2014, a Type Ia supernova designated SN 2014J was discovered in M82, becoming the closest Type Ia supernova observed since SN 1972E. For amateur astronomers, M82 is an exciting target. Binoculars show it as a bright, elongated streak of light near M81, and the pair fits beautifully in the same low-power telescopic field. A 6-inch telescope reveals the cigar shape and mottled texture caused by dark dust lanes crossing the galaxy, while larger telescopes show increasing detail in the irregular structure.

M82 spans approximately 37,000 light-years in length and lies about 11.5 million light-years from Earth, forming stars at ten times the normal galactic rate.