Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
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M82, also known as the cigar galaxy, has been observed several times by Webb. It is smaller than our Milky Way, but 5x as luminous and forms stars 10x faster! Its fast rate of star formation classifies M82 as a starburst galaxy. In visible-light images of the galaxy, the hotbed of star formation at the center is obscured by dust and clouds, but with Webb’s NIRCam, we can see through the dust into the full brilliance of the galactic center.
Why is this galaxy forming so many stars? M82 has a larger spiral as a galactic neighbor. The galaxies have likely been interacting gravitationally, sending gas into M82’s center, providing raw material for new stars to form. M82 is home to more than 100 super star clusters, which each contain hundreds of thousands of stars, and are more massive and more luminous than typical star clusters.
Image Credit: Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Bolatto
Video Credit: Paul Morris
You've got a friend in us! đź’ž
M82, also known as the cigar galaxy, has been observed several times by Webb. It is smaller than our Milky Way, but 5x as luminous and forms stars 10x faster! Its fast rate of star formation classifies M82 as a starburst galaxy. In visible-light images of the galaxy, the hotbed of star formation at the center is obscured by dust and clouds, but with Webb’s NIRCam, we can see through the dust into the full brilliance of the galactic center.
Why is this galaxy forming so many stars? M82 has a larger spiral as a galactic neighbor. The galaxies have likely been interacting gravitationally, sending gas into M82’s center, providing raw material for new stars to form. M82 is home to more than 100 super star clusters, which each contain hundreds of thousands of stars, and are more massive and more luminous than typical star clusters.
Image Credit: Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Bolatto
Video Credit: Paul Morris
