NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observes millions of stars in the Cigar Galaxy, also known as M82, according to astronomers cited by NDTV. The observations focus on the galaxy’s unusually intense period of star formation, described as an “extreme starburst” phase. Researchers say this starburst activity is not permanent: M82’s current high rate of star formation is expected to continue only for a few hundred million years. In astronomical terms, they characterize this duration as a brief interval. The reporting frames the JWST data as offering a detailed look at the large population of stars forming and already present within M82 during this active period. Overall, the sources emphasize both the scale of star production visible in the galaxy and the relatively limited timescale over which the extreme starburst condition persists. The information comes from astronomers analyzing what the telescope reveals about M82’s stellar populations and star-forming state.