Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2019 July 23

                    M82: Galaxy with a Supergalactic Wind
    Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble; Processing & Copyright: Daniel Nobre

   Explanation: Why is the Cigar Galaxy billowing red smoke? M82, as this
   starburst galaxy is also known, was stirred up by a recent pass near
   large spiral galaxy M81. This doesn't fully explain the source of the
   red-glowing outwardly expanding gas and dust, however. Evidence
   indicates that this gas and dust is being driven out by the combined
   emerging particle winds of many stars, together creating a galactic
   superwind. The dust particles are thought to originate in M82's
   interstellar medium and are actually similar in size to particles in
   cigar smoke. The featured photographic mosaic highlights a specific
   color of red light strongly emitted by ionized hydrogen gas, showing
   detailed filaments of this gas and dust. The filaments extend for over
   10,000 light years. The 12-million light-year distant Cigar Galaxy is
   the brightest galaxy in the sky in infrared light, and can be seen in
   visible light with a small telescope towards the constellation of the
   Great Bear (Ursa Major).

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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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