M82 After the Crash
Explanation:
When did the Cigar Galaxy light up?
Evidence indicates
how M82, the
Cigar Galaxy,
became so bright and peculiar: it
collided with neighboring galaxy
M81.
Astronomers become detectives, however,
when trying to figure out
when this collision occurred.
Inspection of
this and other
Hubble Space Telescope
images now indicate massive
young
globular star clusters
were formed during the encounter.
Stars in these clusters that are
600 million years old are just now
exhausting their central
hydrogen fuel,
indicating that the
Cigar Galaxy's
brightening occurred just that long ago.
M82
is located about 12 million
light years away and
visible with
binoculars towards the
constellation of
Ursa Major.
The star-field
shown above spans about 10,000 light years.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
