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Explanation: When did the Cigar Galaxy light up? Evidence indicates how M82, the Cigar Galaxy, became so bright and peculiar: it collided with neighboring galaxy M81. Astronomers become detectives, however, when trying to figure out when this collision occurred. Inspection of this and other Hubble Space Telescope images now indicate massive young globular star clusters were formed during the encounter. Stars in these clusters that are 600 million years old are just now exhausting their central hydrogen fuel, indicating that the Cigar Galaxy's brightening occurred just that long ago. M82 is located about 12 million light years away and visible with binoculars towards the constellation of Ursa Major. The star-field shown above spans about 10,000 light years.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: star cluster - galactic collision - M 82
Publications with words: star cluster - galactic collision - M 82
See also:
- APOD: 2026 June 29 Á M82: Galaxy with a Supergalactic Wind
- APOD: 2026 April 17 Á M82: Starburst Galaxy with a Superwind
- APOD: 2025 October 8 Á NGC 7380: The Wizard Nebula
- APOD: 2025 July 4 Á NGC 6946 and NGC 6939
- APOD: 2025 May 7 Á Galaxy Wars: M81 versus M82
- Young Star Cluster NGC 346
- 38 Hours in the M81 Group