Bode's Galaxy (M81) is a graceful spiral, while the nearby Cigar Galaxy (M82) is a starburst galaxy forming stars at an intense rate. Both lie about 12 million light-years away in Ursa Major; a close encounter with M81 is thought to have stirred M82's activity, and red filaments of gas stream out from its centre.
M81 and M82 were both discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1774. M82 forms stars about ten times faster than the Milky Way, and the red filaments streaming from its centre are hydrogen gas blown out by the starburst. The pair belongs to the M81 group, one of the nearest galaxy groups to our own.
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Bode's Galaxy and Cigar Galaxy (M81, M82)
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