Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2026 June 29 [2]A starfield surrounds an unusual object with a band of diffuse white crossing horizontally. Emanating out from the band toward both the top and the bottom of the frame is an orange and red nebula. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. M82: Galaxy with a Supergalactic Wind Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]CSA, [6]A. Smercina (STScI, Tufts), [7]T. Williams (U. Manchester); Image Processing: [8]A. Pagan (STScI) Explanation: Why is the Cigar Galaxy billowing red smoke? [9]M82, as this [10]starburst galaxy is also known, was stirred up by a [11]recent pass near large [12]spiral galaxy [13]M81. This doesn't fully [14]explain the source of the red-glowing outwardly [15]expanding gas and dust, however. [16]Evidence indicates that this gas and dust is being driven out by the combined emerging [17]particle winds of many stars, together creating a galactic [18]superwind. The dust particles are [19]thought to originate in M82's interstellar medium and are actually [20]similar in size to particles in cigar smoke. The [21]featured photographic mosaic combines images taken in [22]visible light from the [23]Hubble Space Telescope and images taken in [24]infrared light from [25]James Webb Space Telescope. It shows the light-colored central galaxy nearly [26]edge on across the image center with tremendous orange and red colored filaments of gas and dust [27]extending both up and down. The filaments extend for over 10,000 [28]light years. The 12-million light-year distant [29]Cigar Galaxy is the brightest galaxy in the sky in [30]infrared light and can be seen in visible light with a small [31]telescope towards the [32]constellation of the Great Bear ([33]Ursa Major). Tomorrow's picture: smooth asteroid __________________________________________________________________ [34]< | [35]Archive | [36]Submissions | [37]Index | [38]Search | [39]Calendar | [40]RSS | [41]Education | [42]About APOD | [43]Discuss | [44]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [45]Robert Nemiroff ([46]MTU) & [47]Jerry Bonnell ([48]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [49]Specific rights apply. [50]NASA Web Privacy, [51]Accessibility, [52]Notices; A service of: [53]ASD at [54]NASA / [55]GSFC, [56]NASA Science Activation & [57]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2606/M82_HubbleWebb_5000.jpg 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://www.esa.int/ 5. https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/ 6. https://www.stsci.edu/stsci-research/research-directory/adam-smercina 7. https://sites.google.com/view/thomaswilliamsastro 8. https://www.friendsofnasa.org/2023/03/behind-mission-alyssa-pagan-james-webb.html 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_82 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starburst_galaxy 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250507.html 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/spiral_galaxies.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250327.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240415.html 15. https://youtu.be/WOLUDpYhzp0?t=34 16. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1999ApJ...523..575L/abstract 17. https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/news-articles/effects-of-the-solar-wind 18. http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/March01/Heckman/frames.html 19. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019PASJ...71...87Y/abstract 20. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26058972 21. https://science.nasa.gov/asset/webb/m82-cigar-galaxy-webb-hubble/ 22. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/09_visiblelight/ 23. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/ 24. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves/ 25. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/ 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250904.html 27. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https://i.redd.it/g0gsyf954m261.jpg 28. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/ 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap040601.html 30. https://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/page/what_is_infrared 31. https://science.howstuffworks.com/telescope.htm 32. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/constellations/ 33. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursa_Major 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260628.html 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 38. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 40. https://apod.com/feed.rss 41. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 42. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 43. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260629 44. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260630.html 45. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/department/faculty/nemiroff/ 46. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/ 47. https://inspirehep.net/authors/1073087 48. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 49. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 50. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 51. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 52. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 53. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/astrophysics/ 54. https://www.nasa.gov/ 55. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 56. https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/ 57. http://www.mtu.edu/