M82: Great Observatories Present Rainbow of a Galaxy
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI/CXC/UofA/
Observation • April 24th, 2006 • sig06-010
sig06-010
NASA's Spitzer, Hubble, and Chandra space observatories teamed up to create this multi-wavelength view of the M82 galaxy. The lively portrait celebrates Hubble's "sweet sixteen" birthday.X-ray data recorded by Chandra appears in blue; infrared light recorded by Spitzer appears in red; Hubble's observations of hydrogen emission appear in orange, and the bluest visible light appears in yellow-green.
About the Object
- Name
- Cigar Galaxy • Messier 82 • M82 • NGC 3034
- Type
- Galaxy > Type > Irregular
- Galaxy > Activity > Starburst
- Distance
- 11,700,000 Light Years
- Redshift
- 0.000677
Color Mapping
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| X-ray | 1.5 keV | Chandra ACIS |
| Optical | 440 nm | Hubble ACS |
| Optical | 656 nm | Hubble ACS |
| Infrared | 8.0 µm | Spitzer IRAC |
Astrometrics
- Position ()
- RA =9h 56m 26.5s
- Dec = 69° 42' 19.3"
- Field of View
- 10.7 x 8.7 arcminutes
- Orientation
- North is 49.9° left of vertical
