![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyoWaf4oLNrduDvsm7V9DVGHPFXrIKCQ2ALBkI2f2hchfkOHEvNm_kHvU18aop8N1ZUxOQ-vAqpjsuO9NxWnjDLn8KGcDfgNWCVeK6XqBxRLUhq7ADFSG4e5hwqZevXZ8p64svos9Yvex_/s400/scan0043a.jpg)
In the
infrared light, M82 is the brightest galaxy so far know. It exhibits an infrared excess – much brighter at infrared wavelengths than in the visible part of the spectrum. "Our results provide a set of constraints for detailed starburst modeling, which we present in a companion paper. We find that purely foreground extinction cannot reproduce the global relative intensities of H recombination lines from optical to radio wavelengths." says N. M. Förster Schreiber (et al), "The excitation of the ionized gas indicates an average effective
temperature![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_t9zn7fnJt2Vrk-QW_G5YjKmJsp5XvgkqDrznIlVwYVoslh4Y_51reLwgAkXmQbtp91ol_m5HdDdritWNvnq12p0TGXfpbY2VFB8c0H3BbDfBDw9J9_RA=s0-d)
for the OB
stars of 37,400 K, with little spatial variation across the starburst regions. We find that a random distribution of closely packed gas clouds and ionizing clusters and an ionization parameter of 10-2.3 represent well the star-forming regions on spatial scales ranging from a few tens to a few hundreds of
parsecs. From detailed population synthesis and the mass-to-K-light ratio, we conclude that the near-infrared continuum emission across the starburst regions is dominated by red supergiants with average effective temperatures ranging from 3600 to 4500 K and roughly
solar metallicity. Our data rule out significant contributions from older, metal-rich giants in the central few tens of parsecs of M82."
For more information on M82, and the rest of the above article, see http://www.universetoday.com/guide-to-space/messier-objects/messier-82/
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