DESCRIPTION
Andromeda is the nearest major galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy. 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 above image of M31 is a
digital mosaic of 4 frames taken with a small telescope. Much about
M31 remains unknown, including how the center acquired two nuclei.
Constellation: Andromeda - Distance:
2,900,000 Light Years
RA: 00h 42m 42s - DEC: +41d 16m 00s - Magnitude:
3.4 - Apparent Size:
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