High-Resolution X-Ray Observations of M82

Why is it important?

Star formation consumes interstellar gas and heats the local material as massive stars produce strong high-velocity winds and explode as supernovae. In the central parts of starburst galaxies the star formation is so intense that a supernova occurs every few years, producing a massive bubble of hot (10 million K) gas which eventually escapes from the galaxy completely as a "superwind." The observational study of the evolution of the hot gas in starburst events is still in the early stages, with few high-fidelity X-ray images or spectra available.

What did we do?

We analyzed the 34 ksec ROSAT HRI observation of M82 and determined that the X-ray emission along the minor axis is consistent with the outflow of gas in a jet that is partially confined within 1.6 kpc of the nucleus and expands freely at larger radii; this emission is detected to a distance of 6 kpc from the nucleus. We also studied the variability of two X-ray sources in M82 that are candidates for extragalactic black holes.

You can read a Mercury Magazine article about this work.
You can read an Astronomy Magazine article about this work.

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