Coordinates
Position (RA): | 9 55 51.63 |
---|---|
Position (Dec): | 69° 40' 45.42" |
Field of view: | 0.76 x 0.76 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 52.9° left of vertical |
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
Optical
B | 435 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
Optical
V | 555 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
Optical
H-alpha | 658 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
Optical
I | 814 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
M82 (Hubble image)
This image is from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, which was released in 2006 to celebrate the observatory’s 16 years of success.
Throughout the central region of Messier 82, young stars are being born 10 times faster than they are inside in our Milky Way Galaxy. These numerous hot new stars emit not only radiation but also particles called a stellar wind. Stellar winds streaming from these hot new stars also have combined to form a fierce galactic superwind. This superwind compresses enough gas to make millions more stars and blasts out towering plumes of hot ionised hydrogen gas, above and below the disk of the galaxy (seen in red in the image).
You can learn more about this image here.
Credit:NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).
Acknowledgment: J. Gallagher (University of Wisconsin), M. Mountain (STScI) and P. Puxley (NSF)