M82 Galaxy in Ursa Major | NASA Hubble & Chandra [Budget Alert]

M82 Galaxy in Ursa Major | NASA Hubble & Chandra [Budget Alert]

M82 is a so-called starburst galaxy where stars are forming at rates tens to hundreds of times higher than normal galaxies. Additionally, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory sees supernovas that produce expanding bubbles of multimillion-degree gas that extend for millions of light-years away from the galaxy's disk. Despite being smaller than the Milky Way, M82 is five times as luminous as our home galaxy and forms stars ten times faster. M82 is classified as a starburst galaxy because it is forming new stars at a rate much faster than expected for a galaxy of its mass, especially at its center. It is located just 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is being canceled in NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request, along with 18 other active science missions. NASA's science budget is being reduced by nearly 50%. NASA's total budget will become the lowest since 1961, after accounting for inflation.

Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about severe budget cuts at NASA:

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request (PDF): https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical/IR: NASA/ESA/STScI

Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Major
Release Date: Sept. 8, 2025

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