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M82:
Chandra Images Seething Cauldron of Starburst Galaxy
M82, at a distance of 11 million light years from Earth, is the nearest starburst galaxy. Massive stars are forming and expiring in M82 at a rate ten times higher than in our galaxy. The bright spots in the center of this Chandra X-ray image are supernova remnants and X-ray binaries. These
are some of the brightest such objects known. The
luminosity of the X-ray binaries suggests that most
contain a black hole. The diffuse X-ray light in the
image extends over several thousand light years, and is
caused by multimillion degree gas flowing out of M82. A
close encounter with a large galaxy, M81, in the last
100 million years is thought to be the cause of the
starburst activity.
| Fast Facts for M82: |
| Credit |
NASA/CXC/SAO/PSU/CMU |
| Scale |
Image is 5 arcmin on a side. |
| Category |
Normal Galaxies & Starburst Galaxies |
| Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 09h 55m 50.70s | Dec +69° 40' 37" |
| Constellation |
Ursa Major |
| Observation Dates |
September 20, 1999
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| Observation Time |
13 hours |
| Obs. IDs |
361, 1302
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| Color Code |
Hot pink dots - the rest is intensity |
| Instrument |
ACIS |
| Also Known As | Cigar Galaxy |
| Distance Estimate |
About 11 - 13 million light years |
| Release Date |
January 14, 2000 |
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