Bodes Galaxy & Cigar Galaxy

This is a two for one! The bottom galaxy is Bode’s galaxy, also known as M81. The top galaxy is the Cigar galaxy and is also known as M82!

Bode’s galaxy is about 12 million light years away and is around 90,000 light years across. It was first discovered by astronomer Johann Elert Bode in 1774, hence it’s name. Maybe one of these days I’ll have a galaxy named after myself.

The Cigar Galaxy isn’t your standard spiral galaxy, it’s classified as a “starburst galaxy” meaning that it is undergoing an extreme period of star formation. Normally this happens only near the birth of a galaxy, but in this case, the two galaxies are so close together that the gravity of the larger, Bode’s galaxy, is pushing and pulling on its gasses making it form new stars. It is the closest galaxy of its type to us. My what a view.