NGC 1569 - A Huge Starburst in a Nearby Dwarf Galaxy and its Consequences

Photometric studies suggest that the nearby (D = 2 Mpc) dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 1569 has experienced a major burst of star formation for at least the last 25 Myr. Other pieces of evidence are numerous Ha filaments along the minor axis and a strong, metalrich galactic wind, which may lead to the loss of metal-enriched gas to the IGM. We show how the starburst has affected the properties of the neutral atomic and molecular gas in this metal-poor galaxy. In addition, we report the detection of the likely trigger and a possible gas reservoir of the unusually strong starburst.