At the upper left of this image is the "irregular" galaxy M82 also known as the Cigar Galaxy because of its elongated shape. The shape of M82 is actually due to the forces of gravitation of its nearby neighbor the spiral galaxy M81 (lower right of image). M81 is also known as Bode's Galaxy. M81 and M82 are gravitationally bound to each other and it is estimated that between 50 million and 100 million years ago the two galaxies had a near miss encounter that is responsible for the contorted shape of M82. Both galaxies are located in the constellation of Ursa Major and lie at a distance of approximately 12 million light years from Earth.

Image capture and processing information:

Date/Location: May 07, 2005 Lake Sonoma, Sonoma County, California
Instrument: Canon 6.1 Megapixel 300D Digital Rebel SLR through a Celestron CM-1100 Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector
Focal Ratio: Approximately f6.3
Guiding: Manually guided through a modified Orion ED100 refractor
Conditions: Visually clear but hazy
Weather: 58 F, Clear
Exposure: A single 5 minute exposure @ ISO 1600
Processing: Focused and captured with DSLRFocus. Image processed using Microsoft Photo Editor