Media Information
 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Title:
M31: The Andromeda Galaxy
Explanation:
Andromeda is the nearest major galaxy [ http://www.seds.org…] to our own Milky Way Galaxy [ http://cassfos02.uc…]. Our Galaxy is thought to look much like Andromeda [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Together these two galaxies dominate the Local Group [ http://www.seds.org…] of galaxies. The diffuse light from Andromeda [ http://www.seds.org…] is caused by the hundreds of billions of stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] that compose it. The several distinct stars that surround Andromeda [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]'s image are actually stars in our Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] that are well in front of the background object. Andromeda [ http://www.noao.edu…] is frequently referred to as M31 since it is the 31st object [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] on Messier [ http://www.seds.org…]'s list of diffuse sky objects. M31 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] is so distant it takes about two million years for light to reach us from there. Although visible without aid, the above image [ http://www.robgendl…] of M31 is a digital mosaic of 20 frames taken with a small telescope. Much about M31 remains unknown [ http://adsbit.harva…], including how the center acquired two nuclei [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…].
Credit and Copyright:
Robert Gendler [ http://www.robgendl…] (robgendlerastropixs .com)
facet_where:
Milky Way Galaxy
facet_where:
M31
facet_where:
Andromeda Galaxy
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_what:
Andromeda
original url:
http://antwrp.gsfc.…
UID:
SPD-APOD-ap061126

M31: The Andromeda Galaxy
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