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Black Holes Encyclopedia
Stats

Type

Intermediate mass

Location

In the constellation Ursa Major

Finder Chart

Distance

11 million light-years (3.4 megaparsecs)

Mass

Approximately 1,000 times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter equal to the size of Mars

Discovery Methods

Images

M82 X-1

M82

A ground-based view of M82.


M82

X-ray views from Chandra X-Ray Observatory show a flare-up from the possible black hole. The black hole is just to the right of the green cross, which marks the galaxy's center. It is much brighter in the second view than the first.


M82

Hubble Space Telescope view of M82. Clouds of hydrogen gas are billowing from the center of the galaxy as the result of intense bouts of starbirth.


M82

A multispectral view of M82 from the Hubble, Chandra, and Spitzer space telescopes shows the effects of intense starbirth in the galaxy's disk. Vast clouds of gas are billowing from the galaxy's center (shows in X-rays, blue; infrared, red; and visible light, orange). The galaxy's disk is colored green.


This document was last modified: March 14, 2012.