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| NOAO; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/C. Engelbracht (University of Arizona) |
Huge Hidden Halo!
This image composite compares a visible-light view (left) of the "Cigar galaxy" to an infrared view from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of the same galaxy. While the visible image shows a serene galaxy looking cool as a cucumber, the infrared image reveals a smokin' hot "cigar."
The visible-light picture of the Cigar galaxy, also called Messier 82, shows only a bar of light against a dark patch of space. Longer exposures of the galaxy (not pictured here) have revealed cone-shaped clouds of hot gas above and below the galaxy's plane. It took Spitzer's three sensitive instruments to show that the galaxy is also surrounded by a huge, hidden halo of smoky dust (red in infrared image).
The infrared image above was taken by Spitzer's infrared array camera. The dust particles (red) are being blown out into space by the galaxy's hot stars (blue).
Spitzer's infrared spectrograph told astronomers that the dust contains a carbon-containing compound, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. This smelly molecule can be found on Earth in tailpipes, barbecue pits and other places where combustion reactions have occurred.
Messier 82 is located about 12 million light-years away in the Ursa Major constellation. It is viewed from its side, or edge on, so it appears as a thin cigar-shaped bar. The galaxy is termed a starburst because its core is a fiery hotbed of stellar birth. A larger nearby galaxy, called Messier 81, is gravitationally interacting with Messier 82, prodding it into producing the new stars.
The infrared picture was taken as a part of the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxy Survey. Blue indicates infrared light of 3.6 microns, green corresponds to 4.5 microns, and red to 5.8 and 8.0 microns. The contribution from starlight (measured at 3.6 microns) has been subtracted from the 5.8- and 8-micron images to enhance the visibility of the dust features.
The visible-light picture is from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, Ariz.
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| About the Object (1) | | Object name: | Messier 82, M82, NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy | | Object type: | Galaxy | | Position (J2000): | RA: 09h 55m 52.20s Dec: 69° 40' 47.00" | | Distance: | 11.7 million light-years | | Constellation: | Ursa Major |
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About the Data
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Spitzer Data
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| Image Credit: | NASA/JPL-Caltech/C. Engelbracht (University of Arizona) | | Instrument: | IRAC | | Wavelength: | 3.6 (blue), 4.5 (green), 5.8-8.0 (red) microns | | Exposure Date: | May 6, May 8, and May 9 2005 | | Exposure Time: | 4 minutes per point, and the entire map took just over 1 hour | | Image scale: | 12.6 x 12.6 arcmin | | Orientation: | North is 57.7 deg CCW from up | | Release Date: | 2006/03/16 |
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Observers
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Charles Engelbracht (Steward Observatory, University of Arizona)
Robert Kennicutt, Principal Investigator (University of Arizona/ Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge)
Lee Armus (Spitzer Science Center, Caltech)
Brent Buckalew (Spitzer Science Center, Caltech)
George Bendo (Astrophysics Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine)
Daniela Calzetti (Space Telescope Science Institute)
Daniel Dale (University of Wyoming)
Bruce Draine (Princeton University)
Charles Engelbracht (Steward Observatory, University of Arizona)
Karl Gordon (Steward Observatory, University of Arizona)
George Helou (Spitzer Science Center, Caltech)
David Hollenbach (NASA Ames Research Center)
Thomas Jarrett (Caltech)
Praveen Kundurthy (Steward Observatory, University of Arizona)
David Makovoz (Spitzer Science Center, Caltech)
Megan Sosey (Space Telescope Science Institute)
John Cannon (MPIA Heidelberg) |
INDIVIDUAL IMAGES
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Spitzer image of M82
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Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/C. Engelbracht (University of Arizona)
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Visible-light comparison image of M82
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Credit: NOAO
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