This very sharp [
http://panther-obse…M110_cassf10.htm ] telescopic vista features the last object in the modern version of Charles Messier's catalog [
http://www.ngcic.or…] of bright clusters and nebulae - Messier 110 [
http://www.seds.org…]. A dwarf elliptical galaxy, M110 (aka NGC 205 [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…]) is actually a bright satellite of the large spiral galaxy Andromeda [
http://www.seds.org…], making M110 a fellow member of the local group [
http://www.atlasoft…] of galaxies. Seen through a foreground of nearby stars, M110 is about 15,000 light-years across. That makes it comparable in size to satellite galaxies of our own Milky Way, the Large [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] and Small [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] Magellanic Clouds. Though elliptical [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] galaxies are normally thought to be lacking in gas and dust to form new stars, M110 is known [
http://adsabs.harva…bibcode=1998ApJ...49 9..209W ] to contain young stars, and faint dust clouds can easily be seen in this detailed image at about the 7 and 11 o'clock positions relative to the galaxy center.
Explanation
This very sharp [
http://panther-obse…M110_cassf10.htm ] telescopic vista features the last object in the modern version of Charles Messier's catalog [
http://www.ngcic.or…] of bright clusters and nebulae - Messier 110 [
http://www.seds.org…]. A dwarf elliptical galaxy, M110 (aka NGC 205 [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…]) is actually a bright satellite of the large spiral galaxy Andromeda [
http://www.seds.org…], making M110 a fellow member of the local group [
http://www.atlasoft…] of galaxies. Seen through a foreground of nearby stars, M110 is about 15,000 light-years across. That makes it comparable in size to satellite galaxies of our own Milky Way, the Large [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] and Small [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] Magellanic Clouds. Though elliptical [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] galaxies are normally thought to be lacking in gas and dust to form new stars, M110 is known [
http://adsabs.harva…bibcode=1998ApJ...49 9..209W ] to contain young stars, and faint dust clouds can easily be seen in this detailed image at about the 7 and 11 o'clock positions relative to the galaxy center.
Explanation
