Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Andromeda (And)  ·  Contains:  Great Nebula in Andromeda  ·  M 110  ·  M 31  ·  M 32  ·  NGC 205  ·  NGC 221  ·  NGC 224
The Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31) & Its  Companions, astrobillbinMontana
The Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31) & Its  Companions
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The Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31) & Its Companions

The Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31) & Its  Companions, astrobillbinMontana
The Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31) & Its  Companions
Powered byPixInsight

The Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31) & Its Companions

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Description

The Great Andromeda Galaxy (also known as Messier 31 - M31 for short) is about 2.2 million light years from Earth. Even so, if you know where to look, it is visible to the naked eye as a hazy patch of light. The light captured in the attached image left the galaxy over 2.2 million years ago!

M31 is the largest neighboring galaxy to the Milky Way - our own galaxy. NGC221 (also designated as M32) is its superimposed elliptical companion and NGC 205 is a slightly more distant elliptical galaxy. NGC206, which is embedded within the spiral arms of M31, is a rich star forming region. Note: I have previously uploaded a close-up image of NGC206 to this site.

This is one of the most spectacular galaxies visible from Earth (other than the Milky Way, of course) and one of my very favorites.

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The Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31) & Its  Companions, astrobillbinMontana