Messier 82 facts for kids
Messier 82, also known as the Cigar Galaxy or M82, is a special type of galaxy called a starburst galaxy. It's located about 12 million light years away from us. You can find it in the constellation Ursa Major, which is also known as the Big Dipper.
The Cigar Galaxy is incredibly bright. It shines five times brighter than our entire Milky Way galaxy. It's even 100 times brighter than the very center of our own galaxy! In 2005, the Hubble Space Telescope looked closely at M82. It found nearly 200 huge groups of young stars in the galaxy's core. These areas are very active and full of energy. New stars are being born in the center of M82 ten times faster than they are in our whole Milky Way Galaxy.
Why M82 is a Starburst Galaxy
M82 is a starburst galaxy because it's making new stars at a very fast rate. This happens when a lot of gas and dust get squeezed together. This squeezing causes new stars to form quickly.
How M81 Affects M82
The main reason M82 is so active is because of its larger neighbor, a spiral galaxy called M81. M81 is much bigger than M82. Its strong gravity pulls on M82. This pulling started about 100 million years ago.
This strong pull from M81 has changed the shape of M82. It has also caused a huge amount of gas to flow into M82's center. This gas is the fuel for making new stars. Because of this interaction, M82 is forming stars ten times faster than most other galaxies.
Scientists believe that M82 has had at least one close encounter with M81. The most recent one might have happened about 200 to 500 million years ago. This close pass led to a big burst of star formation. This "starburst" lasted for about 50 million years. It created many of the star clusters we see in M82 today.
The Mystery Object in M82
In April 2010, astronomers found something very strange in M82. Scientists at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in England detected an unknown object. This object started sending out radio waves. The way it sent out these waves was unlike anything ever seen before in the universe.
There are many ideas about what this mystery object could be. However, none of the ideas fully explain all the observations. The object is a few arcseconds away from the very center of M82. It also seems to be moving very fast. From our view, it looks like it's moving four times faster than the speed of light compared to the galaxy's center. This is a puzzle for scientists to solve!
See also
In Spanish: Galaxia del Cigarro para niños
