Arnaud Malleval
M82, also known as the Cigar Galaxy, lies about 12 million light-years away in Ursa Major. It is a classic example of a starburst galaxy — one producing newborn stars at a prodigious rate. Their explosive deaths drive filaments of hydrogen gas above and below its disk, forming the reddish filaments in Hα seen above. The imager collected 56.8 hours of data in HαLRGB filters with a 12-inch f/3.3 scope.