WEBVTT FILE

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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

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has taken a new look at the starburst galaxy Messier 82.

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Located 12 million light-years away in the 
constellation Ursa Major,

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this galaxy hosts a lot of star formation activity,

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sprouting new 
stars 10 times faster than our own Milky Way.
 

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Star formation is hidden by dense curtains 
of dust and gas,

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but Webb can see through these murky conditions

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by peering in infrared light.

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Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera, or NIRCam,  

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pointed toward the starburst galaxy’s center,  

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to get a better look at a vibrant community

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of new stars in unprecedented detail.

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Every single white dot in this image 
is either a star, or a star cluster. 

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Clumpy red tendrils can be seen extending

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above and below the galaxy’s plane.

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Dark brown groupings of heavy dust are threaded throughout M82’s

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glowing white core even in this infrared view.

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Looking closer toward the center, small green specks

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represent concentrated areas of iron,

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most of which are the dense remains 
of exploded stars

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called supernova remnants.

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Small patches that appear 
red signify regions where molecular

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hydrogen is being lit up by a 
nearby young star’s radiation.

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Using Webb to Inspect the activity 
in galaxies like these can deepen  

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astronomers’ understanding of the 
early universe by getting a closer  

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look at the physical conditions that 
foster the formation of new stars.