The Cigar Galaxy in Infrared - Messier 82 (NIRCam)

Located about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major, the galaxy Messier 82 (M82), also known as the Cigar Galaxy, blazes with activity. Though smaller than the Milky Way, it shines five times brighter and forms stars ten times faster, earning it the title of a starburst galaxy. In visible light, its core appears veiled by dust, but Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) reveals the vibrant heart within.

Astronomers suspect M82’s furious star formation was triggered by a gravitational encounter with its larger neighbor, the spiral galaxy M81. The interaction likely funneled gas into M82’s core millions of years ago, fueling the birth of more than 100 super star clusters, each packed with hundreds of thousands of young stars still cocooned in dense gas.

Webb’s new view expands on earlier observations by showing plumes traced by glowing organic molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Each plume, about 160 light-years wide, is composed of smaller clouds 16 to 49 light-years across, features made visible only through Webb’s extraordinary resolution. These clouds are swept away from the galaxy’s disk by powerful stellar winds, the direct result of M82’s extraordinary rate of star formation.