Astronomy Chapter 21 Visual Activity

Select the visible-light view of the galaxy M82. Based on its appearance, what type of galaxy is it?

Look again at the visible-light view of M82. What is the source of the white and blue light that dominates the image?

The infrared image of M82 shows a whitish-blue region running down the center, along with a much larger red region. What is emitting the light that is shown in red and what is emitting the light that is shown in whitish-blue>

Study all of the individual images and the Multi image that combines all of them. Which of the following statements provides the best interpretation of what we see in the Multi image? 1. Select the visible-light view of the galaxy M82. Based on its appearance, what type of galaxy is it? 2. Stars are embedded within a much larger cloud of gas that glows both blue and red in the visible part of the spectrum. 3. The central region of the galaxy is collapsing to form a gigantic black hole, and in the process it is generating a galactic wind that is blowing stars outward in all directions. 4. Supernovae are occurring all around the galaxy, especially in the red regions extending far from the galactic center. 5. Stars in the central region of this galaxy are exploding as supernovae, generating a galactic wind of hot gas and warm dust gains.

What can we conclude about this galaxy from the fact that there are so many supernovae occurring?

As you learned in Part E, galaxy M82 has unusually active star formation. Why do astronomers think that this is a "burst" of star formation, rather than thinking that this galaxy always has such a high rate of star formation?