Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Cigar Galaxy
(Redirected from M82)
- For the rifle, see M82 (rifle)
The Cigar Galaxy (also known as Irregular Galaxy M82, Messier Object 82, Messier 82, M82, or NGC 3034) is a starburst galaxy in the Ursa Major constellation.
The Chandra X-ray Observatory detected fluctuating X-ray emissions from the sector, appoximately 600 light-years away from the centre of the messier object — around 12 million light-years from Earth. Astronomers have postulated that M82 would contain the first known mid-mass black hole , of roughly 500 solar masses.
Many speculate that the Cigar galaxy, classified as Irr-II (Irregular galaxy type II - no organization whatsoever), is actually a barred spiral galaxy seen edge on, with gravitational distortions and massive dust lanes, presenting an irregular morphology to us.
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10-26-2009 08:16:03
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The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details