M82: A starburst galaxy located about 12 million light years from Earth.
Caption: M82 is a galaxy where stars are forming at rates that are tens or even hundreds of times higher than in a normal galaxy. In this Chandra image (where low, medium, and high-energy X-rays are colored red, green, and blue respectively), M82 is seen nearly edge-on with its disk crossing from about 10 o'clock to about 4 o'clock. There are over a hundred point-like X-ray sources, some of which are likely black holes pulling matter from companion stars. Supernovas have produced the large bubbles of hot gas that extend for millions of light years to the upper right and lower left of the galactic disk.
Scale: Image is
12.75 arcmin across (44,500 light years)
Chandra X-ray Observatory
ACIS Image
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