Webb Telescope Unveils Fiery Core of Famous Galaxy — Stellar Image of the Week

Despite being of smaller stature than the Milky Way, the Cigar Galaxy radiates with more power.(Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Bolatto via Getty Images)Quick facts

What it is: M82, a side-viewed spiral starburst galaxy

Where it is: Situated 12 million light-years distant within the Ursa Major constellation

When it was shared: Oct. 23, 2025

If you possess a modest backyard telescope, there’s a solid likelihood you’ve personally witnessed the Cigar Galaxy (M82). It’s not just moderately proximate to the Milky Way and among the most vivid galaxies visible at night, it also sits adjacent to Bode’s Galaxy (M81). Being a spiral galaxy roughly a quarter the scale of the Milky Way, M82 radiates five times brighter and gives birth to stars at a rate 10 times greater, which bestows upon it the designation of a starburst galaxy.

This image, taken by the James Web Space Telescope (JWST), exposes a glowing center bursting with countless stars. This image follows up on a detailed close-up unveiled in 2024. Even though the photo captures a lateral view of M82, it showcases its luminous core throwing off a bluish-white brilliance, accompanied by orange and crimson dust clouds extending upward and downward. The gas clouds are replete with gaps and crests — minute features discernible solely due to JWST’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam), capable of penetrating them.

M82’s center is a bustling zone, encompassing in excess of 100 super star clusters, with some still gestating within thick gaseous clouds. Every super star cluster holds several hundred thousand stars. The cause behind M82’s heightened stellar creation possibly stems from its companion, M81, which it’s presumably engaged with gravitationally. The end result is gas originating from M81 having penetrated the center of M82, thereby inducing a surge in star genesis despite the galaxy’s compact size.