XRISM Measures Cigar Galaxy's Superhot Winds at 2 Million MPH

Astronomers achieved a first by directly measuring the speed of ultra-hot gaseous winds in M82 using XRISM.

“In a striking scientific achievement, astronomers have for the first time measured the speed of a colossal cosmic wind emanating from the heart of the Cigar Galaxy (M82)”

Al-Jazeera Net

Instruments recorded speeds exceeding 2 million miles per hour, surpassing prior predictions.

Al-Jazeera Net

The findings confirm a decades-old hypothesis that winds originate from supernova-heated gas.

The gas temperature reached about 25 million degrees Celsius.

Resolve analyzed X-ray emissions using Doppler shifting and spectral line broadening.

This enabled the first direct velocity measurement of superheated galactic winds.

Space

Prior to XRISM, astronomers relied on indirect methods.

Now we see the gas moving even faster than some models predict.

The discovery has profound implications for understanding galaxy-scale feedback.

“Astronomers have made an unprecedented discovery about the winds blasting from the star-forming galaxy M82, revealing speeds that shatter previous expectations”

The Daily Galaxy

Winds redistribute gas and metals into intergalactic space, affecting star formation.

The unexpectedly high velocities raise new questions about wind drivers and fate.

The study published in Nature marks XRISM's debut.