... Credit: Adam Block , Mount Lemmon SkyCenter , University of Arizona Explanation: The two prominent stars in the foreground of this colorful skyscape are well within our own Milky Way Galaxy . ... But the two eye-catching galaxies in view lie far beyond the Milky Way , at a distance of about 200 million light-years. ... Cataloged as Arp 273 (also as UGC 1810), the galaxies do look peculiar , but interacting galaxies are now understood to be common in the universe. ... Galaxies on a String . ...