Discovery of VHE Gamma-ray Emission from the Starburst Galaxy M82

Understand

The galaxy M82 has long been considered a promising target for VHE gamma-ray observations because of the compact starburst region in its core.

• Theoretical predictions have suggested it should be detectable by ground-based imaging Cherenkov telescopes like VERITAS and that a detection would have implications for the understanding of the origin of cosmic rays.
• M82 was observed with the VERITAS array during the 2007-2009 observing seasons.
• With an exposure of 137 hours, VERITAS was able to detect a gamma-ray signal at the 5 sigma level.