The Cigar Galaxy from Hubble and Webb
Something strange happened to this galaxy, but what? Known as the Cigar Galaxy and cataloged as M82 , red glowing gas and dust are being cast out from the center. Although this starburst galaxy was surely stirred up by a recent pass near its neighbor , large spiral galaxy M81 , this doesn't fully explain the source of the red-glowing outwardly expanding gas and dust . Evidence indicates that this material is being driven out by the combined emerging particle winds of many stars, together creating a galactic superwind . In the featured images , a Hubble Space Telescope image in visible light is shown on the left, while a James Webb Space Telescope image of the central region in infrared light is shown on the right. Detailed inspection of the new Webb image shows, unexpectedly, that this red-glowing dust is associated with hot plasma . Research into the nature of this strange nearby galaxy will surely continue. Total Eclipse Imagery: Notable Submissions to APOD