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[ETHEREAL MUSIC]

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Within galaxies,
the bright clouds

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are the places where gas and
dust collapse to form stars.

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In infrared light, NASA's
James Webb Space Telescope

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sees into these nebulae
with unprecedented detail.

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Some galaxies have regions
with furious levels

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of star formation.

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Astronomers call them
starburst galaxies.

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The starburst activity
is perhaps too fast,

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as it will relatively quickly
deplete the available gas

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and dust.

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Webb observations help explain
why and how so many galaxies

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undergo these short, vibrant
periods of star formation.

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Messier 82, known
as the Cigar Galaxy,

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doesn't look like
a starburst galaxy,

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until the light of
hot hydrogen reveals

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a huge outflow of gas and
dust, called the galactic wind.

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Webb's infrared view sees the
full extent of the galactic wind

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and pierces through
to its source,

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a region of intense starburst
activity in the galaxy's core.

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We can explore M82's structure
using a 3D visualization.

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The cigar is actually a disk
of stars seen mostly edge-on.

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Within the disk, Webb detects
faint stellar spiral arms,

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confirming that M82
is a spiral galaxy.

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A central ring of
intense star formation

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contains hundreds of
massive star clusters.

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The combined power of supernova
explosions within these star

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clusters creates
the galactic wind.

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What can trigger such
a spectacular outburst?

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The cause appears to be a
recent gravitational encounter

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between M82 and the more
massive spiral galaxy, M81.

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Many other galaxy
interactions and collisions

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produce vibrant star formation.

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These gravitational
encounters are a known trigger

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for starburst activity.

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Webb observations provide
precise characteristics

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of this short-lived
but common phase

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in the development of galaxies.

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They also provide insight
into the distant universe,

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where Webb has uncovered a
collection of starburst galaxies

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that existed in the
first billion years.

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Although images of these
important starburst galaxies

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are small and fuzzy,
their properties

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can be inferred from
high-resolution observations

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of nearby starburst galaxies.

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Webb's keen eye is
providing novel insights

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into local starburst
galaxies, as well as

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discovering and interpreting
these dazzling environments

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in distant galaxies.

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[ETHEREAL MUSIC]

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