Bode's Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy

Bode's Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy - also known as M81 & M82 respectively - are two galaxies located in the constellation of Ursa Major. Both are interacting with one another, and will one day merge into one larger galaxy.

Both galaxies have already passed each other once, which has caused large jets of hydrogen to be expelled from M82, as an enormous burst of star formation blows the ionized gas away from the galaxy.

This is a true-color image, with a total integration time of 100hrs. Captured from the North Georgia Astronomical Observatory in Dahlonega, GA.