Starburst Galaxy

Messier 82, also known as the Cigar Galaxy, is a starburst galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Starburst galaxies undergo extremely high rates of star formation and are thought to represent a particular phase in a galaxy's evolution. Because of its excessive star birth, M82 is five times brighter than our own Milky Way galaxy.

This image, from the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter, required a 28-hour exposure using the 32-inch Schulman telescope.