Starburst Galaxy M82

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200 x 220 21 kb color JPEG(on this page)
400 x 440 62 kb color JPEG
800 x 880 163 kb color JPEG
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To make this image, data from the WIYN 3.5-meter telescope on Kitt Peak were combined with data from the WFPC2 camera on the Hubble Space Telescope. Purple represents emission in ionized hydrogen (H-alpha) and ionized nitrogen, and the green is ionized sulfur in the WIYN data. In the HST image, these colors refer to H-alpha and nitrogen separately. Note the varying angular resolution of the dust lanes in the central part of the superwind on either side of the stellar disk.

These data are being used in a study of the connection between structures within M82 and its galactic superwind. This image was first presented at the “Essential Science in Hubble’s Final Years” symposium, held 3-6 May 2004 at the Space Telescope Science Institute.

The WIYN 3.5-meter and 0.9-meter telescopes on Kitt Peak are operated by a consortium of the University of Wisconsin, Indiana University, Yale University, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO).

Minimum credit line: Mark Westmoquette (University College London), Jay Gallagher (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Linda Smith (University College London), WIYN//NSF, NASA/ESA (for details see Conditions of Use)