M31: The Andromeda Galaxy

What is the nearest major Galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy?

Andromeda Galaxy. In fact, our Galaxy is thought to look much like Andromeda Galaxy. Together these two galaxies dominate the Local Group of galaxies.

The diffuse light from Andromeda Galaxy is caused by the hundreds of billions of stars that compose it. The several distinct stars that surround Andromeda Galaxy’s image are actually stars in our Galaxy that are well in front of the background object.

Andromeda Galaxy is frequently referred to as M31 since it is the 31st object on Messier’s list of diffuse sky objects. M31 is so Distant Worlds 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 20 frames taken with a small telescope. This is an example of Astrophotography.

Much about M31 remains unknown, including exactly how long it will be before it collides with our home galaxy.

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