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Messier 82: Difference between revisions
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[[Messier 82]] (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is a starburst galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It is about five times more luminous than the whole Milky Way and one hundred times more luminous than our galaxy's center.[6] The starburst activity is thought to be triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81, and M82 is a member of the M81 Group. As the closest starburst galaxy to our own, M82 is the prototypical example of this type of galaxy.[6] SN 2014J, a Type Ia supernova, was observed in the galaxy on 21 January 2014. | [[Messier 82]] (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is a starburst galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It is about five times more luminous than the whole Milky Way and one hundred times more luminous than our galaxy's center.[6] The starburst activity is thought to be triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81, and M82 is a member of the M81 Group. As the closest starburst galaxy to our own, M82 is the prototypical example of this type of galaxy.[6] SN 2014J, a Type Ia supernova, was observed in the galaxy on 21 January 2014. | ||
In 2014, in studying M82, scientists discovered the brightest pulsar yet known, designated M82 X-2.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_82 Messier 82]</ref> | |||
In 2005, the Hubble Space Telescope revealed 197 young massive clusters in the starburst core.[6] The average mass of these clusters is around 200,000 solar masses, hence the starburst core is a very energetic and high-density environment.[6] Throughout the galaxy's center, young stars are being born 10 times faster than they are inside our entire Milky Way Galaxy. | |||
==Messier 81 Interaction== | |||
Forming a striking pair in small telescopes with nearby spiral M81, M82 is being physically affected by its larger neighbor. Tidal forces caused by gravity have deformed this galaxy, a process that started about 100 million years ago. This interaction has caused star formation to increase tenfold compared to "normal" galaxies. | |||
Recently, M82 has undergone at least one tidal encounter with M81 resulting in a large amount of gas being funneled into the galaxy's core over the last 200 Myr.The most recent such encounter is thought to have happened around 2–5×108 years ago and resulted in a concentrated starburst together with a corresponding marked peak in the cluster age distribution.This starburst ran for up to ~50 Myr at a rate of ~10 M⊙ per year. Two subsequent starbursts followed, the last (~4–6 Myr ago) of which may have formed the core clusters, both super star clusters (SSCs) and their lighter counterparts.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_82 Messier 82]</ref> | |||
==HGS Session References== | ==HGS Session References== | ||