The Cigar Galaxy in Infrared - Messier 82 (MIRI)

Nearby and ablaze with stellar creation, Messier 82 (M82), also known as the Cigar Galaxy, shines five times brighter than the Milky Way. Located about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major, this compact galaxy is forming stars at a breathtaking pace, about ten times faster than our own galaxy. In visible light, M82’s center appears dark and dusty, but Webb’s infrared vision reveals a turbulent heart bursting with energy.

Astronomers believe this frenzy of star formation began when M82 had a close gravitational encounter with its larger neighbor, the spiral galaxy M81. The interaction sent gas flowing toward M82’s core, fueling a wave of new star births. Within this region lie more than 100 super star clusters, each containing hundreds of thousands of stars shrouded in dense clouds of gas and dust.

Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) shows a striking view nearly devoid of starlight, dominated instead by glowing dust and complex organic molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These molecules outline powerful outflows driven by winds and radiation from young, massive stars. Over time, those same winds may strip away the gas that feeds star formation, gradually bringing an end to the galaxy’s spectacular starburst phase.