Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Andromeda (And)  ·  Contains:  Andromeda galaxy  ·  Great Nebula in Andromeda  ·  M 110  ·  M 31  ·  M 32  ·  NGC 205  ·  NGC 206  ·  NGC 221  ·  NGC 224
M31 Andromeda Galaxy, John R Carter, Sr.
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M31 Andromeda Galaxy

Acquisition type: Electronically-Assisted Astronomy (EAA, e.g. based on a live video feed)
M31 Andromeda Galaxy, John R Carter, Sr.
Powered byPixInsight

M31 Andromeda Galaxy

Acquisition type: Electronically-Assisted Astronomy (EAA, e.g. based on a live video feed)

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Description

M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, is our closest galaxy neighbor. The smudge at the top right is M110, a companion galaxy of M31. And the bright smudge below and to the left of the center of M31 is M32, another companion galaxy of M31. M110 and M32 are also called dwarf galaxies. These three galaxies are 2.5 million light years away and heading straight for the Milky Way. In about 4-5 billion years, M31 will merge with the Milky Way. Astronomers are already calling the merged galaxies Milkomeda. The letter “M” is for Messier, the last name of the French astronomy Charles Messier. He catalogued 103 objects, of which only 17 were his own discoveries, and posthumously is credited with an addition 7 to bring it to a total of 110 objects. The reason Messier catalogued these objects is because he was hunting for comets and kept coming across these smudges in the sky that didn’t move. So he decided to catalog their positions and labelled them as “not interesting, don’t go there.” One night each year it is possible to spend an entire night from dusk to dawn and find all 110 Messier objects as they pass across the sky. This is now called the Messier Marathon.

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M31 Andromeda Galaxy, John R Carter, Sr.