Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

M82: Galaxy with a Supergalactic Wind

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for June 29, 2026 is “M82: Galaxy with a Supergalactic Wind,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: NASA , ESA , CSA , A. Smercina (STScI, Tufts), T. Williams (U. Manchester); Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI). The original explanation runs about 196 words.

A starfield surrounds an unusual object with a band of diffuse white crossing horizontally. Emanating out from the band toward both the top and the bottom of the frame is an orange and red nebula. Please see the explanation for more detaile
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , CSA , A. Smercina (STScI, Tufts), T. Williams (U. Manchester); Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI) Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Why is the Cigar Galaxy billowing red smoke? M82 , as this starburst galaxy is also known, was stirred up by a recent pass near large spiral galaxy M81 .”

— APOD editors, June 29, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
June 29, 2026
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , CSA , A. Smercina (STScI, Tufts), T. Williams (U. Manchester); Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI)
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 196 words

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Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: June 29 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.