The -m flag indicates the maximum time-to-live (TTL) between the hops. The * in the output logs indicates failure to trace a node within the given TTL, as no response was received. The -m flag dictates the maximum number of hops to be traced. It can be a value between 1 and 255, with 1 producing just 1 hop in between, where 255 produces up to 255 hops towards the end point. However, note that it is unlikely to have such a long path in the internet, and if exists, it is even more unlikely to retrieve the exact IP addresses through traceroute or traixroute (you will more likely receive * for the latter hops).