Hubble Telescope Image of Star Formation

386471 02: An image from the NASA Hubble Space Telescope released March 7, 2001 shows the heart of the prototypical starburst galaxy M82. The ongoing violent star formation is due to an ancient encounter with its large galactic neighbor, M81. In the Hubble image, taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, the huge lanes of dust that crisscross M82's disk are another telltale sign of the flurry of star formation. Below the center and to the right, a strong galactic wind is spewing knotty filaments of hydrogen and nitrogen gas. (Photo Courtesy of NASA/Newsmakers) The smaller picture at upper left, taken in December 1994 by the Kitt Peak National Observatory's 0.9-meter telescope, shows the entire galaxy. Hubble's view is represented by the white outline in the center.