M31: The Andromeda Galaxy
Image Credit & Copyright: Farmakopoulos Antonis
Explanation: What is the nearest major
galaxy to our own
Milky Way Galaxy? Andromeda. In fact, our Galaxy is thought to look much like
Andromeda. Together these two galaxies dominate the
Local Group of galaxies. The diffuse light from
Andromeda is caused by the hundreds of billions of
stars that compose it. The several distinct stars that surround
Andromeda's image are actually stars in
our Galaxy that are well in front of the background object.
Andromeda is frequently referred to as M31 since it is the 31st
object on
Messier's list of diffuse sky objects.
M31 is so distant it takes about two million years for light to reach us from there. Although
visible without aid, the
featured image of
M31 is a digital mosaic of several frames taken with a small telescope.
Much about M31
remains unknown, including exactly how many billions of years it will before it
collides with our home galaxy.
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