Image Credit: NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Legacy Archive (STScI/NASA, ST-ECF/ESA, CADC/NRC/CSA)
Image & Colors processing: Exoplanet.sg
M82 Cigar Galaxy
Does this galaxy looks like a Cigar? M82 Galaxy is commonly known as the Cigar Galaxy due to its resemblance of a cigar. Located a mere 12 millions light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major (The Great Bear), it is one of the popular target for amateur astronomers. Cigar Galaxy is nearly edge-on when view from Earth causing its elongated appearance. It was thus thought to be an irregular galaxy. However, near-infrared images taken on 2005 revealed that M82 has two spiral arms. Near-infrared imaging is able to see through dense cloud of gas and dust which are otherwise hidden from our view.