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

• Detection of an accretion disk

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. [NASA/JPL/STScI/CXC/UofA]

This document was last modified: August 29, 2011.