The bright stars in the foreground of this picture are inside our own Milky Way Galaxy. However, the two galaxies in the background that are the subject of the photo are over 300 million light-years distant. The galaxies, known as Arp 273, are very close together for galaxies (a little over 100,000 light years), and appear in this picture to be distorted. This is due to their gravitational interaction as they engage in close encounters. Despite the unusual appearance, galactic interactions and mergers are quite common in the universe. In fact, the Milky Way and its cosmic neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, are expected to have a similar interaction in the distant future.
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