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Messier 82
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<a href="/facts/Celestial_coordinate_system/23HhqvHj">Coordinates</a>: <a href="http://www.wikisky.org/?ra=9.9311666666667&de=69.679722222222&zoom=8&show_grid=1&show_constellation_lines=1&show_constellation_boundaries=1&show_const_names=1&show_galaxies=1&img_source=IMG_all">09h 55m 52.2s, +69° 40′ 47″</a> <p>Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is a <a href="/facts/Starburst_galaxy/EV0wM4Rs">starburst galaxy</a> approximately 12 million <a href="/facts/Light-year/IGc5NdQb">light-years</a> away in the <a href="/facts/Constellation/nBQqgW8A">constellation</a> <a href="/facts/Ursa_Major/BFhHcvbW">Ursa Major</a>. It is the second-largest member of the <a href="/facts/M81_Group/ucKlKjQ3">M81 Group</a>, with the <a href="/facts/Galaxy/zCyUvEf7">D25 isophotal diameter</a> of 12.52 <a href="/facts/Parsec/SwSsk57J">kiloparsecs</a> (40,800 <a href="/facts/Light-year/IGc5NdQb">light-years</a>). It is about five times <a href="/facts/Luminosity/1tdhpk9l">more luminous</a> than the <a href="/facts/Milky_Way/ulF6lccN">Milky Way</a> and its central region is about one hundred times more luminous. The <a href="/facts/Starburst_region/wMNJJwQX">starburst activity</a> is thought to have been triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy <a href="/facts/Messier_81/p91h990c">M81</a>. As one of the closest starburst galaxies to Earth, M82 is the prototypical example of this galaxy type. <a href="/facts/SN_2014J/BJSkscf1">SN 2014J</a>, a <a href="/facts/Type_Ia_supernova/W4rEFuDK">type Ia supernova</a>, was discovered in the galaxy on 21 January 2014. In 2014, in studying M82, scientists discovered the brightest pulsar yet known, designated <a href="/facts/M82_X-2/0aWoGYjw">M82 X-2</a>. </p><p>In November 2023, a <a href="/facts/Gamma-ray_burst/oRRU6Fhn">gamma-ray burst</a> was observed in M82, which was determined to have come from a <a href="/facts/Magnetar/By90KFyJ">magnetar</a>, the first such event detected outside the <a href="/facts/Milky_Way/ulF6lccN">Milky Way</a> (and only the fourth such event ever detected). </p>