M82: Great Observatories Present Rainbow of a Galaxy
Sig06 010

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 GalaxyMessier 82M82NGC 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