1 min read

M82 Cigar Galaxy (Webb + Hubble)

$Composite image of edge-on spiral starburst galaxy Messier 82 as observed by NASA's James Webb and Hubble space telescopes. Hourglass-shaped plumes of gas are shooting outward from above and below a bright blue-white, disk-shaped center. The plumes are yellow near the galaxy’s bright center, denoting areas of ionized hydrogen gas as observed by Hubble, and gradually become redder as you move farther away. Messier 82 is set against the black background of space, which has many distant galaxies that appear as small white and orange spirals, ovals, and points of light. Toward the right of Messier 82 is a blue-white star with eight-pointed diffraction spikes that are characteristic of Webb.$

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently observed edge-on starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82), nicknamed the Cigar Galaxy. Webb’s near-infrared data combined with Hubble visible-light archival data (assigned the color yellow) create a more comprehensive understanding of M82. With Webb’s near-infrared imagery, astronomers can see the galaxy’s distended disk structure and millions of individual stars — approximately 16.5 million — for the first time.

Depicted as luminous blue granules, these stars are only a small portion of the total amount astronomers think reside in a galaxy like M82. The extreme star formation occurring within M82, which will eventually cause star formation to cease in the future, is causing bipolar plumes of material to be ejected above and below the galaxy’s disk.

Archival data from the Hubble Space Telescope adds another aspect to the lively scene: yellow tendrils of material, which represent ionized hydrogen gas, are closest to the galaxy’s disk. The red-orange material farther away imaged by Webb depicts small dust grains. These grains are called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and are helpful in tracing material in the space between the galaxy’s stars, also known as the interstellar medium.

Webb’s detailed observation of the galaxy, specifically of the main plane of the galactic disk, is aiding astronomers as they seek to uncover the formation history of M82. The telescope data will also help scientists understand the current processes occurring within the starburst galaxy.

About the Object

R.A. Position
R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
09:55:52.0
Dec. Position
Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
69:40:48.99
Constellation
ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
Ursa Major
Distance
DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
12 million light-years
Dimensions
DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
This image is 9 arcminutes across (about 32,000 light-years)

About the Data

Data Description
Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
This image was created with Webb data from proposal: 5145 (A. Smercina) and HST data from proposal: 10776 (M. Mountain (STScI), J. Gallagher (University of Wisconsin-Madison), P. Puxley (NSF), K. Noll, H. Bond, C. Christian, L. Frattare, F. Hamilton, Z. Levay, M. Mutchler, W. Januszewski, and T. Royle (Hubble Heritage Team/STScI/AURA))
Instrument
InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
JWST>NIRCam HST>ACS/WFC
Exposure Dates
Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
JWST> 15 March 2025 HST> 27-29 March 2006, 5 Janurary 2024
Filters
FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
JWST> F115W, F200W, F335M, F444W HST> F658N

Object Name
Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
M82, The Cigar Galaxy
Object Description
Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
Starburst Galaxy
Release Date
June 23, 2026
Science Release
NASA’s Webb Pinpoints Millions of Stars Within Cigar Galaxy
Read the release
Credit
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, Adam Smercina (STScI, Tufts), Thomas Williams (University of Manchester); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Downloads

Full Res (For Print), 18187 × 12260
tif (331.49 MB)
Full Res (For Display), 18187 × 12260
png (275.04 MB)
18187 × 12260
jpg (149.94 MB)
2000 × 1348
png (4.13 MB)

This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument and the Hubble Space Telescope using the ACS/WFC instrument. Several filters were used to sample varying wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F115W, Cyan: F200W, Orange: F335M, Yellow: F658N, Red: F444W

Related Images & Videos

Edge-on spiral starburst galaxy Messier 82 as imaged by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Hourglass-shaped red-orange plumes of material are shooting outward from above and below a bright blue-white, disk-shaped center. Messier 82 is set against the black background of space, which has many distant galaxies that appear as small white and orange spirals, ovals, and points of light. Toward the right of Messier 82 is a blue-white star with eight-pointed diffraction spikes that are characteristic of Webb.

M82 Cigar Galaxy (NIRCam Image)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed edge-on starburst galaxy Messier 82, peering through dust to reveal 16.5 million stars and the galaxy’s distended disk structure. Scientists seek to learn the galaxy’s evolutionary history with the Webb data.

A side-by-side comparison of a portion of starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82) as seen by NASAu2019s Hubble (left) and James Webb (right) space telescopes. The left image is labeled u201cHubbleu201d and the right image is labeled u201cWebb.u201d Hubbleu2019s visible-light view at left shows bright, bluish light radiating from the center and a thick lane of dust, black in the center and red around the edges, diagonally stretching across the scene. Thinner strands and clumps of reddish dust cover the majority of the view. Webbu2019s infrared-light view at right shows a dense area of stars, depicted as luminous blue-white grains, against the black background of space. Toward the right side is clumpy red material, which is most visible toward the top right corner.

M82 Cigar Galaxy (Hubble/Webb Side-by-Side)

Side-by-side comparison of a portion of starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82) as seen by NASA’s Hubble (left) and James Webb (right) space telescopes. Hubble detailed M82’s gas and dust structure, while Webb pierced through the dust and resolved millions of stars in infrared light.

Annotated image of starburst galaxy Messier 82 captured by Webb's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument, with compass arrows, a scale bar, and color key for reference. Title text at top left reads u201cJames Webb Space Telescope, The Cigar Galaxy, M82.u201d Hourglass-shaped red-orange plumes of material are shooting outward from above and below a bright blue-white, disk-shaped center. Messier 82 is set against the black background of space, which has many distant galaxies that appear as small white and orange spirals, ovals, and points of light. Toward the right of Messier 82 is a blue-white star with eight-pointed diffraction spikes that are characteristic of Webb. Below the image is a color key showing which of Webbu2019s NIRCam and Hubbleu2019s ACS/WFC filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From left to right, NIRCam filters are: F115W is blue; F200W is light blue; F335M is orange, and F444W is red. ACS/WFC filter F658N is yellow.

M82 Cigar Galaxy (Compass Image)

Annotated image of the starburst galaxy Messier 82 captured by Webb's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument, with compass arrows, a scale bar, and color key for reference.